Small Pieces of You
by illutia mist
Summary: What I want, is to be accepted, to be useful, and, on top of it, to find a place I belong to. For that wish to come true, I will do whatever it takes, no matter what.
1. 1st Piece: Run Away

**illutia mist: Hi! Hi! This is my new fanfic of Gakuen Alice! **

**Natsume: I think you haven't finished the other one.**

**illutia mist: What's the other one?**

**Natsume: You're the author and you don't know? (Narrows his eyes)**

**And illutia just shrugged at his words.**

**Natsume: …I think I'll burn you. (Fire appears on his palm. He's annoyed)**

**illutia mist: (Eyes widen) STOP!! I know! I know! Geez! I'm just kidding!**

**Natsume: And I'm not. It's not funny. (Irritated)**

**illutia mist: Okay. For the 'When I Met you', I'll still continue it. I just want to change the atmosphere, you know.**

**Natsume: You make me do double jobs.**

**illutia mist: (Mutters) More hard for me to make two different stories…**

**Natsume: You don't own me or Gakuen Alice and its other characters, so don't overwork us.**

**illutia mist: (Eyebrows twitch) I know. Don't worry. This is the first chapter. You haven't appeared in this chapter.**

**Natsume: It's better if you don't make me appear in the other chapters too. (Walks away)**

**illutia mist: WHA-?! HEY NATSUME!! WAIT!! YOU HAVE THE IMPORTANT ROLE TOO!! I CAN'T ERASE YOUR PART JUST LIKE THAT!! HEEEEYYYYY!! (Chases Natsume)**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**1st Piece: Run Away**

That day was so gloomy in Tokyo. There was no blue sky, but pale-colored sky. The streets were still crowd with people though.

A dot of water fell from the sky to the ground then followed by the other one and the other again until there was millions of it falling to the ground, drenching the streets with it transparent color. People started to run, searching for a shelter.

In the middle of the crowd, a teen girl was running under the rain that poured harder every minute. Her shoulder-length black hair was damp because of the rain. She had one of her eyes opened to see the direction she ran into in the rain. Behind the opened eyelid, there was a beauty dark brown-colored orb. She held her orange-colored medium sized backpack in her embrace tightly. Her red T-shirt and dark blue jeans pants were also drenched by the rain. Her blue sport shoes with white lines on it were dirty and soaked because of the mud on the street where she passed by.

She kept on running as she recalled what had happened hours before that caused her to run in the rain at that time.

-x-

The black-haired girl was in her room at the second story of her house. She was staring at the gloomy sky from her closed window.

'Hhh…The sky is as gloomy as me today…' she thought sadly. 'Mom was mad at me again this morning and it's about the school and future. Oh please, the senior high school is still a year from now.'

She gave out a sigh and turned from her window to her study desk. She took out her sketchbook and started to draw something on it. She was still thinking about that morning's topic with her mother.

'_Don't just draw and draw in your room! You'll go to the senior high school just in a year again! Thinking about you future!'_

'That was what mom said. But mom never knew how hard I study at school and home. All she knows is I always draw something every time she checks on me. It's just a coincidence!' she thought angrily. 'Then she'll say that I'm no use at all and never help her. I help her sometimes, if she wants to know. Should I tell her every time I help her?'

Her pressure to her pencil kept getting harder every time she thought about that. And when she realized, she looked at her sketchbook blankly, sweat dropping at her 'masterpiece', a tangled thread.

'This 'masterpiece' again…' she thought as she sighed. 'I wonder how many times I have made this 'masterpiece'.'

She closed her sketchbook and left it on her study desk. She stood up and walked to the door. She turned the doorknob and was about to step out from her bedroom when she heard a conversation that came from the first floor.

She tiptoed near the stairs and listened to the conversation.

"That child…she never listens to me. I don't know what to do with her,' a woman's voice could be heard.

'It's mother,' she thought as she kept on listening to the conversation.

"What did she do again this time?" a man's voice asked.

'Father has come home?!' the girl was surprised after she heard the man's voice. 'Oh no! Mother will report this morning argument to him again!!'

"I've told her many times to stop drawing and that she'll never have any future if she's too drowning in that things," her mother complained, "but she never listen to me! She keeps on drawing those unimportant things!"

"Tell her that she better stops doing such things and concentrates in her study. Isn't that easy?" her father said in a calm tone, but there's a little anger in it.

'They argue again. They always argue about me, me and me. Don't they have anyone else to talk about? How about Izu?' The girl started to get irritated.

"Why can't she be like Izu? Stop drawing and concentrate on her study?" her mother whined.

'Great! Congratulations, Izu! You're mom's favorite daughter!' the girl thought sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"I wonder how can she be so different from Izu? She's just a minute older than her sister. She should be a good example for her," her father said.

'I've studied hard, you know! I have! I'm just not as clever as her! My grades are good too! Okay, her grades are excellent,' the girl thought angrily.

"She's no use at all. She never helps. What a good daughter she is," her mother said the last sentence in a little sarcastic tone.

SNAP!

A broken string sound could be heard from inside the girl's head. She bent down her head and there was a dangerous aura around her at that time.

'This is it! I have gotten enough of this!' she thought as a big vein popped up on her head.

She turned on her heel and walked back to her room. She opened her drawer and grabbed some clothes. Approaching her study-desk, she grabbed her sketchbook and pencil-colored box. She took out her orange-colored medium sized backpack that was placed under the desk and inserted all things that had been mentioned before into the bag. After she checked on her luggage once again, she remembered that she forgot an important thing.

'Oh! Almost forgot the wallet!' she thought as she clasped her hands together.

She went to the drawer again and took out her wallet with a cute bear design beneath other clothes. She then inserted the wallet to the bag too.

She hanged her backpack on her back and went down to the first floor. She checked if there was someone else at the corridor.

'Clear!' she thought with a triumphant smile then tiptoed to the front door.

She put on her blue sport shoes then opened the door slowly, carefully not to make any sound. After she landed her feet at the outside of her house successfully, she quickly ran from there.

She didn't know where to go. What she knew was she wanted to go away from her house. She had planned this escape many times but never did it because there was always a reason for not doing this.

But now, her patience had run out. She couldn't stand it again.

She ran to anywhere her feet would take her.

-x-

And now, here she was, running under the rain because the rain suddenly poured down when she walked around without destination.

After she ran for a quiet long time, she got exhausted. She decided to walk and tightened her embrace to her backpack because there was something important inside it, her sketchbook.

Okay, maybe clothes and wallet were important too.

'How long have I run?' she thought as the rain kept pouring down on her head. 'How far is it now?'

Suddenly, her vision got blurred. She tried to keep on walking by leaning her hand on the wall.

'Not now. Not now. I can't get unconscious now,' she thought hardly, trying to prevent herself falling into the unconsciousness from the nausea that suddenly came.

She tried to run again, but to no avail. Her vision got worsened and the darkness finally covered her vision.

-x-

She felt that she was lying on something soft. There was something covering her too. She wanted to open her eyes but her eyelids felt so heavy.

'Maybe it is some kind of blanket,' she thought, guessing what the thing was.

Then she heard a sound. The sound of a door opened. Faintly, she could hear there a few peoples talking.

"So, this is the girl that you're talking about, Narumi-sensei?" a deep man's voice said. From the voice, she could guess that the person was a discipline type. She was good at guessing people's behavior from the voice, you know.

"Yes, Jinno-sensei. The security guard found her lying in front of the gate," another voice could be heard. But this time, it was a little cheery.

'Two peoples, huh,' she thought, still with her eyes closed.

"Is she an alice-user?" the deep voice which belonged to Jinno asked.

"I have asked the headmaster to search some information about her," the cheery voice that belonged to Narumi replied.

'Alice? What is it?' the girl thought, confused.

"Narumi," another voice could be heard. This time it's a calm one.

"Misaki, has the headmaster found anything about this girl?" Narumi asked.

"Yeah, she's absolutely an alice-user. But the headmaster hasn't found out what alice that she has," the calm voice that called Misaki said. "There's no information about her alice. It looks like she hasn't used it even once."

"So, how does the headmaster know that she has an alice?" Narumi asked. A confused tone could be heard when he asked.

"I don't know. It's a mystery," Misaki replied calmly.

'What are they talking about?' the girl thought. 'Some stupid things?'

"So, where should we place her?" Narumi asked again.

"The headmaster told us to place her in a one-star room for temporary. We'll observe her longer," Misaki said, closing the topic.

"I'll take her to her room then," Narumi said in a cheery tone.

The half-conscious girl felt being lifted by something, or rather, someone from the comfortable thing and she started to move. She heard the sound of door opened and sound of footsteps that echoed along the way, but she couldn't do anything because she felt so tired. Her body hardly could move.

Suddenly, she stopped moving. Actually, her carrier was the one that stopped to move. She could hear a few of footsteps approaching them.

"Narumi-sensei! Good afternoon!" a very cheery girl's voice greeted.

"You're too loud," a calm girl's voice said.

'Girls' voices? What is this place?' the half-conscious girl thought, still with her eyes closed.

"Good afternoon, Mikan-chan, Hotaru-chan," her carrier greeted back.

'Mikan-chan and Hotaru-chan, huh,' the girl thought.

"Who is it, Narumi-sensei?" the cheery girl's voice asked.

"A new friend," Narumi said. The girl could feel that he was smiling when he answered the question.

"New friend? So she's a new student, Narumi-sensei?" the cheery girl asked again; it looked like she was excited.

"Yes, Mikan-chan, she is. Befriend with her, okay?" Narumi said kindly.

"Okay, Narumi-sensei!" the cheery girl who was known as Mikan replied happily.

'So, this place is some kind of school…' the half-conscious girl thought.

"What's wrong with her?" the calm girl asked curiously.

"We found her unconscious in front of the gate. She got fever. Maybe she has been under the rain for a long time," Narumi said. A concerned tone could be heard in his sentence.

"Is that so? I hope she'll be okay," Mikan said, a bit concerned. "When will she attend the class?"

"Depend on her condition. If she could, maybe she'll attend the class tomorrow," Narumi replied.

"Yeiii!! A new friend!!" Mikan chirped happily.

"Now, I'll take her to her room first," Narumi said. "You two still have classes, right?"

"Oh, yes! We have to go now! Bye-bye, Narumi-sensei!" Mikan said before the footsteps could be heard again. This time, the sound was avoiding them.

Then they started to move again.

After a few minutes had passed, the carrier, Narumi, stopped and a sound of door opened could be heard. It looked like they moved inside a room. After a few steps, he lay her on something soft. 'Maybe a bed,' she thought. Then he touched her forehead gently.

"Get well soon," was his last words before he pulled back his hand from her forehead.

And after a few seconds, the half-conscious girl drifted to sleep.

-x-

Morning had come.

She opened her eyes just to see an unfamiliar ceiling and room. She got up slowly on the bed and found a wavy blonde haired man sleeping on a small couch at the right side of the room.

Surprisingly to her, her clothes weren't wet. She was still in her red T-shirt and dark blue jeans pants but it didn't wet.

'I remember exactly that my clothes were wet,' she thought confusedly as she touched her hair. It had been dry too.

She looked around the room and found her backpack on a desk, which was near the window.

'Where am I?' she thought as her eyes gazed around, observing the room.

"So you have awakened now."

She was surprised to hear a voice and then she knew that the voice came from the now-awoke wavy-blonde haired man.

"I'm Narumi, a teacher in this Alice Academy. What's your name?" Narumi asked as he smiled.

"I'm…Jacklyn," the girl said, wondering if she could trust this…gay teacher. "Where am I?"

"You're in the Alice Academy, a school for those chosen one," Narumi said, "and you are one of them."

"Chosen?" Jacklyn asked, confused.

"Yes, the chosen one have a special power called alice," Narumi explained shortly.

"Alice? Is that something like a supernatural power?" she guessed, a finger on her chin.

"Sort of," he replied simply.

"So, what power that I have?" she asked as she tilted her head a little to the side.

"Yes, about that, we don't know," Narumi said. "You have the potential but you never used it."

"Um…how could I arrive in this place?" Jacklyn asked, curious.

"We found you unconscious in front of the gate," Narumi replied shortly. Then he stood up and approached the girl. He touched her forehead, checking on her fever. "It looks like your fever has gone down, but it's still a little warm," Narumi said, acting like a doctor.

"My clothes were wet yesterday. How did you dry it?" Jacklyn asked again.

"We have to get a student that wields the alice of water to remove the water from your clothes." Narumi smiled.

"My backpack too?" Jacklyn asked worriedly. She remembered that her important things were in the backpack.

"Yes," Narumi replied simply.

Jacklyn sighed, relieved that her backpack was rescued. She then remembered something.

"Um…I…my parents…" she said hesitantly.

"We have informed your parents yesterday. Don't worry." Narumi smiled gently. "It looks like you ran away from your home. Is it true?"

Jacklyn didn't say anything, just nodded. A sad expression appeared on her face.

"And as long as you study here, you can't meet or contact them. Is it okay?" Narumi asked again, a bit concerned.

She nodded again.

"Okay," Narumi said, wondering what had happened to her. "Because you still have fever, maybe you'll attend the class tomorrow." Then Narumi took the clothes that was placed on the bedside table and gave it to her. "This is your uniform. You're fourteen year old, so you're in junior high school. I hope the size is right," Narumi said as he smiled and put down the uniform on her lap.

Jacklyn stared at the uniform on her lap, a bit interested.

"Get some rest today," Narumi said as he patted the girl's head. "I have to attend a few classes today so I'll excuse myself for now."

Narumi walked to the door. Before he closed the door, he gave her a message, "Your food will be carried here, so don't worry. Bye!" Then he closed the door.

Jacklyn put the uniform back on the bedside table and lay back on the soft bed, wondering what would happen to her in this Alice Academy school.

--To be continued--

**A black haired girl glared at a branch of the famous Sakura tree. She was shouting something about important role. Just then, a brunette approached her.**

**Mikan: illutia? Why are you shouting at a tree?**

**illutia mist: Not the tree. But the Black Cat! (Points to the branch)**

**Mikan: (Looks up) …Natsume?**

**Natsume: (Annoyed) What?**

**Mikan: What are you doing up there?**

**Natsume: Resting. Until this thing found me and started to babble unreasonable things. (Glares at illutia)**

**illutia mist: He told me to erase his part in this fic!! I can't do that!! (Cries waterfall)**

**Mikan: Uh…okay…By the way, who's the new girl in this story?**

**illutia mist: (Looks up) Oh? She's Jacklyn, my favorite character. (Smiles) She's like a trademark for me. Actually there's another too. **

**Natsume: Great. Another freaky girl in the story. (Sighs)**

**illutia mist: She's not a freak!! Um…just a little different…but not too different too…but… (Goes on mumbling incoherently)**

**Natsume: A circuit in her head is broken.**

**Mikan: (Sweat drops) Sorry, readers. Anyway, thank you for reading and please review! (Smiles)**


	2. 2nd Piece: Second Partner

**illutia mist: Ah, finally. I can speak normal again now after that broken circuit in my head has been repaired.**

**Natsume: (Bends his eyebrows) What are you? A robot?**

**illutia mist: Of course not! I'm a pure human! I just need some rest. That's what I mean with repairing the broken circuit.**

**Mikan: Oookay…So, how are the works doing?**

**illutia mist: What? The fanfics? Of course I'm trying to do both of them.**

**Mikan: (Concerned) Aren't you stressed to do both of different stories?**

**illutia mist: Nah. I still can handle it for now.**

**Natsume: Beware of the other circuit in your head. Maybe there's another that broken again.**

**illutia mist: Hope not. By the way, here's second piece of 'Small Pieces of You'. Geez! I really hope I can own Gakuen Alice.**

**Natsume: Keep dreaming.**

**Mikan: (Smiles) Sorry, illutia. It belongs to Higuchi Tachibana.**

**illutia mist: Hey, I prefer the way Mikan cheers me up.**

**Natsume: It's just the same. You'll never own it anyway.**

**illutia mist: (Glares at Natsume) Thanks for making me feel down.**

**Natsume: You're welcome. Just go on with the story.**

**illutia mist: Yeah, that's right. Enjoy, readers! XD**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**2nd Piece: Second Partner**

Jacklyn was standing in front of a full-body mirror in her room. She had worn her junior high school uniform. It's a white undershirt with black blazer and red tie. The skirt was red checkered and it reached above her knees. Her shoulder-length black hair had been combed tidily. Her bangs reached her cheeks but it had been divided by the side, showing her forehead's smooth skin.

She took a last glance at her figure at the mirror before she grabbed her school backpack. It wasn't her orange-colored backpack, but it was given from the school. There were two ways to use it. First, you could bring it with your hand. And second, you could hang it on your back. And she preferred to hang it on her back. For her, it's easier.

She put on a pair of white socks that had 15 centimeters length from her ankles and black school shoes. She took her sketchbook that she placed on the table yesterday. Now, she's ready. But the problem was…

She didn't know the way to the school!

'Maybe I'll search it by myself,' she thought as she turned the doorknob.

She stepped outside her room and locked the door with the key that she found on the table too. She guessed that it was Narumi who had placed it there. After she had made sure that the room had been locked, she inserted the key in her skirt pocket and started to walk.

After turning here and there, she found a robot and wondered if she must ask 'it' or not. But then, she decided to take a try and the robot showed her the way out from the dorm.

Outside the dorm, she got more confused. There was a big green field and there were several buildings on the different directions.

'Guess what? I'm lost!' she thought, desperate.

Then she felt something patting her shoulder. She turned around, only to see a boy with brown-colored hair and wore glasses standing there. He smiled kindly at her.

"Good morning. My name is Yuu Tobita," he said kindly. "It looks like you've been standing here for some time. Can I help you?"

Jacklyn stared at him for a moment, and then she said, "I'm searching for the junior high school building."

"I'm in junior high school too," he said as he smiled. "I'll take you there. Please follow me."

He started to walk and Jacklyn followed him. They're walking in silence.

The problem was Jacklyn couldn't talk easily to a people that she didn't know at all. Moreover, she just met him for a few seconds ago. She, herself, also wondered if she could befriend with her new classmates. She had a taciturn behavior in front of all unfamiliar peoples. It was different story if she had known them and been close to them.

After walking in what-she-had-thought a year silence, they finally arrived in front of a big building.

"This is the junior high school building," Yuu said, breaking the silence between them.

"Umm, thank you for showing me the way," Jacklyn said politely.

"So, are you a new student? What's-" his sentence was cut off by the sound of the bell rang. "Oh no! I forgot that I woke up late today!" He got panicked.

"I can walk by myself from here. You can go now," Jacklyn said as she smiled.

"Are you sure that you'll be okay?" Yuu asked, concerned.

"I'm sure I'll be fine," she convinced him.

The bell rang once again.

"Just go or you'll be late," she told him.

"O, okay. Sorry!" Yuu said as he run to a direction.

After he was gone from her sight, Jacklyn just sighed as she stared at her sketchbook in her hands.

'Time to explore the school,' she thought as she moved her right foot forward and walked to the direction that was taken by Yuu before.

After she walked for approximately five minutes, she was about to turn at a corner when she heard footsteps behind her.

"I'm late! I'm late!" that's what she heard when she turned her head a little to the voice and…

BUMP!

Someone bumped her back, causing her to bump into another person that suddenly appeared in front of her.

"Ow! I'm sorry!" a cheery voice could be heard after they all landed on the cold floor.

"N-no, it's okay," Jacklyn said in a low voice as she rubbed the back of her head and tried to regain her consciousness again after the bumping incident.

"Tch. This has been the 36 times in this first semester," an arrogant boy voice could be heard from the opposite direction. "And this time, you're two times weightier than before, Polka!"

"Hey! I'm not weightier than before! It's still normal!" the girl said, irritated.

"Then why did you bump into me so hard today?" the boy asked, irritated too.

And when they were finally aware to their circumstance, all of them fell silent for a few seconds.

Why not?

The boy was lying on the cold floor. On top of him was Jacklyn. And of top of Jacklyn was the girl that argued with the boy a few seconds ago. They were all wide-eyed, but the boy quickly regained his annoyed face.

"Are you going to get off from me or not?" the boy asked with an irritated tone. He had a pair of crimson eyes and raven-colored hair. From the way he talked, it looked like he's an arrogant boy.

Jacklyn bent her eyebrows. "I can't. Tell her to get off from me before you tell me to get off from you," she said with an irritated tone too.

"Oh! I'm sorry!" the girl who was on top of Jacklyn quickly apologized as she got herself up from the black-haired girl.

Finally, they got off from that awkward position. Jacklyn looked at the girl with a cheery voice. She had long auburn hair that was tied into two pigtails, both on each side. She had a pair of beautiful hazel eyes too.

Jacklyn was sure that she ever heard that cheery voice somewhere, but she shoved away those thought because she couldn't remember it. She realized that her sketchbook wasn't in her hands anymore. She looked around the floor and found it lying beside the boy. She moved there and picked it up from the floor.

Jacklyn realized that she had been watching by someone, so she turned her head a little and found out that the cheery girl was the one who had been watching her from some time ago.

"Yes?" Jacklyn asked as she raised an eyebrow.

The girl smiled. "You're the girl that Narumi-sensei carried two days ago!" she said with her cheery voice. "I'm Mikan Sakura! Nice to meet you! And this is-" she said as she moved forward but then she had a confused expression on her face. "…Huh? Where did he go?"

She looked forward and found that boy had walked into the class. "Wait! Natsume!" she called as she chased him.

Jacklyn froze on her spot. 'Mikan, huh? I think I ever heard her name before,' she thought as she tried to remember.

After a minute thinking, she finally remembered.

'Oh. The one that sensei talked to when I was half-conscious two days ago. That cheery girl voice…so it's her,' she thought as she sighed.

"So there you are, Jacklyn-chan," a familiar voice disturbed her thought.

Jacklyn turned her head to the direction of the voice and saw the familiar wavy-blonde haired man with a pair of purple colored eyes. It's Narumi.

'The gay teacher…' she thought as she approached him.

"Good morning. How are you today?" he greeted her as he smiled.

"Fine," Jacklyn replied simply as she gave out a small smile.

"Good. Follow me. I'll take you to your class," he said as he started to walk.

Jacklyn followed him and then she realized that he walked to the direction where Mikan went a few minutes ago. He stopped in front of the door.

"You wait here," Narumi said, smiling. "When I call you, you may come in."

Jacklyn nodded. Narumi patted her head before he went into the class. She stood in front of the door and sighed as she waited her name being called.

After a minute, she heard her name being called by Narumi. She pushed the door open and stepped in as her hold onto her sketchbook tightened. She walked to the center and faced her new classmates. Now she felt dizzy. She couldn't stand being watched by so many people or being an attention, except when she was mad and didn't care about her circumstance.

"Please introduce yourself," Narumi said as he smiled at her.

"My name's Jacklyn. Nice to meet you all," she said politely as she bowed her head a little.

"What's your surname?" a student asked as he raised his right hand.

Jacklyn looked at him and said, "I don't have any surname."

"Don't you have any family?" another student asked in a sarcastic tone.

Jacklyn looked at the student and said, "I have. But my name doesn't suit with my family surname, so my parents decided not to use it."

"What's your alice?" a girl with straight-indigo hair asked.

Jacklyn fell silent. She didn't know her alice. Narumi also said that they, the school, didn't know too. How did she answer this question?

"She doesn't know her alice."

The voice that represented her in answering the question caught her attention. The owner of the voice had a dirty-blonde colored hair.

She narrowed her eyes. 'Who is he? How does he know?' she thought, curious.

The boy smiled and said, "My name's Kokoro Yome. You can call me Koko. And I know about it because I just read your mind. That's my alice."

Then some murmurs could be heard in the class. Jacklyn had guessed it. They must be wondering how she could get into the Alice Academy, the school for those chosen one, when she, herself, didn't know what her alice was. Narumi clapped his hands, asking for all students' attention.

"Well, my dear students, the school has searched some information about her and found out that she has the potential but she never used it before," Narumi explained as he showed his trademark smile. "Now, I hope that all of you can get along with her."

Then suddenly, Jacklyn smelled something burning. It was so close to her. It's…

OH. MY. GOD.

Her eyes widened when she found out that her sketchbook was burnt. She got panicked and tried to put out the fire.

"OH NO! MY SKETCHBOOK!" she shouted as she swished her sketchbook up and down, trying to put out the little fire that burnt the edge of her sketchbook.

"NATSUME!" a voice yelled and the fire extinguished.

Jacklyn looked up and found an auburn-haired girl named Mikan standing and facing the raven-haired boy at the back of the class.

"Natsume! What are you doing?" Mikan scolded him. "Why should you burn her sketchbook?"

After Jacklyn heard the last sentence, she understood. The boy had the alice of fire. A vein popped on her head.

"Testing her alice," were the last words she heard from the boy before she stomped to his direction and…

SMACK!

She hit him on the head with her sketchbook. The class made an awed sound at her action. The boy glared at her angrily.

"What?" he asked her in a dangerous tone.

"Don't you dare messing with my sketchbook," Jacklyn stated angrily as she shot a glare back at him.

All of the students were surprised at her sudden personality changing. For a moment ago, she looked like a calm, taciturnity, and good girl. But after the 'sketchbook' incident, she looked so…different.

However, Natsume wasn't surprised at her personality changing. He gave her another sharp glare and…

"MY SKETCHBOOK!" Jacklyn shouted as her sketchbook got burnt again. She swished it up and down again. "DARN YOU!! PUT IT OUT!!" she shouted angrily, but Natsume just smirked.

Then suddenly the fire was gone.

"NATSUME!" Mikan scowled him again.

"Tch." He looked away.

SMACK!

And Jacklyn hit his head with her sketchbook again. She was very, very angry.

"Hey! What have you done to Natsume-kun!" another girl's voice scowled at her. She glanced at the owner of the voice and found a girl with seaweed hair standing not far from them and pointing her index finger at her.

"Ask him, what he have done to my sketchbook," Jacklyn said in an angry tone. She was pissed off.

"It's just a sketchbook! He's not!" the perm-haired girl said. She was angry too.

Jacklyn shot a hard glare to her, made her take a step backward. "It's not JUST A sketchbook," she said in a dangerous tone. "If you try to mess with it, you'll get the consequences."

"It's a dead thing! Natsume-kun is alive!" the girl retorted back and Jacklyn could see a few girls nodding in agreement.

'Are they fan girls?' she thought. And as a certain person you-know-who read her mind again, he said, "Yes, they are."

Jacklyn looked at the replier, which was Koko, and said, "So that's it…"

"What's wrong with 'so that's it' words?" the perm-haired girl scowled at her, distracting her attention from Koko.

"Nothing," she said with a sly smile, "Permy."

The class made an awed sound again. The aforementioned girl's face turned red. She was angry at the nickname.

"My name's not Permy! It's Sumire Shouda! The president of Natsume-Ruka fans club!" she said angrily.

"Well, I don't ask," Jacklyn said as she looked away.

"Why you little!" Sumire growled but was cut off by Narumi who clapped his hands, asking for the students' attention once again.

"Okay, class. We won't have class today, but make sure that you don't miss Jinno-sensei's class later," was his last sentence before he disappeared behind the door.

But in the next second, he entered the class again and received groans from the students.

"Ha ha! Sorry, class! I haven't decided her seat and partner," he said happily, trying to cheer up the disappointed class. "Okay. Jacklyn-chan, your seat is…" he said as he looked around the class, "there. Your seat is in front of Mikan-chan's seat. And your partner is…"

'Partner?' she thought, wondering what a partner used for.

And once again, Koko, who had read her mind again, said, "A partner can act as your ally to train your alice or do some assignments that teachers give or as your guide at school."

Jacklyn showed him an understanding expression.

"That's right, Jacklyn-chan. So your partner is…" Narumi said again as he looked around.

"How about me, Narumi-sensei? I've met her two days ago!" Mikan said as she raised her right hand. Everybody looked at her in surprise, even Natsume. But he quickly regained his stoic expression again.

"Great! So your partner now is that sketchbook girl and Natsume-kun will be my partner!" Sumire squealed happily.

'Her partner is this cocky boy?' Jacklyn thought as she glanced at Natsume, whose face showed an irritated expression.

"Yes, he is her partner," Koko answered, which she known he had read her mind again. Jacklyn looked at him with an 'oh' look.

Jacklyn looked at Narumi and said, "Sensei, if this partner problem disturbs you, do you mind if I say that I don't need any partner?"

Narumi looked at her and smiled. "Yes, I mind. You must have a partner, as Koko said before, as your ally to train, do some assignments, and your guide in many things about school."

"But it looks like all the students here have had their own partner," she said again.

"That's right," Narumi agreed. "So, if you don't mind, Natsume-kun, Jacklyn-chan will be your second partner after Mikan-chan. Are you okay with that?" Narumi asked the irritated boy.

"Tch," was Natsume's reply as he looked away.

"I'll take that as a yes," Narumi said as he smiled.

"Sensei! What if I replace her to be Natsume-kun's second partner?" Sumire asked with her puppy eyes.

"I'm sorry, Shouda-san, but you have had your own partner," Narumi replied kindly. Sumire pouted because Narumi didn't grant her wish. Narumi looked back at Jacklyn and said, "It's settled then. Jacklyn-chan, your partner will be Mikan-chan and Natsume-kun."

"Okay…Sensei," Jacklyn said, unsure if that gay teacher had made a right decision by choosing Mikan and Natsume as her partners, mainly Natsume.

Narumi smiled. "So, all of you may take your leisure time now. Remember, don't miss Jinno-sensei's class later or you'll be in a big trouble," Narumi said before he went out from the class.

After the students had made sure he wouldn't come back, the class made a commotion. Some of them minded their own business, some played with the others. And some…

"Jacklyn-chan, nice to meet you! My name's Nonoko Ogasawara! Call me Nonoko!" a straight-indigo haired girl greeted her.

"And my name's Anna Umenomiya! Call me Anna!" another girl with wavy-pink hair said.

Yeah, they crowded around her with another students that she hardly could remembered what their names were.

"Um, yeah. Nice to meet you all," she said as she smiled weakly.

She spotted Natsume and a blonde-haired boy went out from the class. 'So, it's okay to go out from class, huh,' she thought. Fortunately, Koko was too busy reading another student's mind.

"Umm, may I ask when Jinno-sensei's class starts?" she asked, trying to get out from the crowds.

"It's on 9.30 am. Why?" Nonoko said, smiling.

"I just remember that I have something to do. See you later!" Jacklyn said as she ran out from the class.

"Make sure that you're not late for Jinno-sensei's class!" Anna said, hoping that Jacklyn heard her.

Mikan tilted her head a little. 'I wonder why she's in a hurry. And, has she known this school's map?' she thought in wonder.

--To be continued--

**illutia mist: That's it for this chapter!!**

**Natsume: (Glares at Jacklyn) That girl smacked my head.**

**Jacklyn: (Annoyed) Don't blame me. It's what that strange author wanted.**

**Mikan: (Sweat drops) Here they go again…**

**illutia mist: I feel like I added a copy of Natsume here. (Looks at Jacklyn)**

**Jacklyn: Yeah. You're the one who created me.**

**illutia mist: (Whines) Jacklyn…We're best friend from a long time ago, aren't we?**

**Jacklyn: (Thinks) I guess so. Besides, you're the one who created me.**

**Natsume: A freak sketchbook girl that created by a freaky author.**

**Jacklyn and illutia mist: I'M NOT A FREAK!**

**Mikan: (Sighs) Great…Jacklyn has a half of Natsume and a half of illutia…By the way, readers, (Smiles) don't mind those three peoples. Please-**

**Jacklyn: (Smiles) Review. And thank you-**

**illutia mist: (Big smile) For reading!!XD**

**WHACK!**

**illutia mist: (Annoyed) Ouch! Why just me that being hit?! And who's the culprit?!**

**Natsume: Don't ever smack my head again. (Walksaway)**

**illutia mist: (Murmurs) Maybe one day…**

**Natsume: I heard that. (Turns back and a flame appears in his hand)**

**illutia mist: BYE, EVERYONE!! (Runs away)**

**Mikan: (Sighs) Oh, well…**

**Jacklyn: Just let them be.**


	3. 3rd Piece: Her Alice

**And readers, this chapter started when our freaky author approached our dearly brunette and the other main character on this story, named Jacklyn. A very dark gloomy aura around her sent chill down the two girl's spines that were chatting happily at that time. The two girls, feeling the chill on their spines, decided to stop chatting and look at the big dark gloomy aura that was approaching them.**

**Mikan: (Sweat drops) What's wrong with you, illutia?**

**Jacklyn: (Expressionless) From the gloomy aura, she just got a bad day.**

**illutia mist: (Mutters) HE hit my head umpteenth times…**

**Mikan: (Concerned) Ohh… Are you okay?**

**illutia mist: (Glares at Mikan) Absolutely not.**

**Jacklyn: Actually, I enjoyed hitting him back then.**

**illutia mist: (Mutters) But I didn't enjoy being hit by HIM.**

**Someone: Who do you mean?**

**illutia mist: (Snaps her head to the voice's direction as a vein pops on her head) WHO ELSE? IT'S-OH MY GOD!! NATSUME?! (Shrieks)**

**Natsume: (Raises an eyebrow) What?**

**Jacklyn: You hit her again and she complained.**

**Natsume: (Bends his eyebrows and glances at illutia) It's your fault.**

**Mikan: And why is that? (A big question mark appears on her head)**

**Natsume: (Looks at Mikan) Are you an idiot? Our REAL author, Higuchi Tachibana, has created us in a good shape and this freaky author (Glares at illutia, who glares back at him) dares to do to what she wants with us!**

**illutia mist: (Pouts and mutters) I just made Jacklyn smack your head and you're already that mad. What will happen if I make you wounded heavily and bleed again like in the first chapter of When I Met You?**

**Natsume glared at the freaky author dangerously. This time, Jacklyn was the one who talked.**

**Jacklyn: He'll definitely kill you.**

**illutia mist: Don't you dare!! I'll really make you suffer!! (Points an accusation finger at Natsume)**

**Natsume: (A very dangerous aura appears around him) Try.**

**And the two, that maybe couldn't get along forever, kept retorting at each other.**

**Mikan: (Sweat drops) Maybe we better start this piece…**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**3rd Piece: Her Alice**

'Oh, great! Where am I now?' Jacklyn thought as she looked around her.

She was lost.

She looked at her wristwatch. 'It has been thirty minutes since I went out from class and now I'm lost,' she thought irritatingly. 'And there's an hour again until the next class begins.'

She walked again, bringing a gloomy aura with her. Then she spotted something when she turned at a corner, a Sakura tree.

'Wow! A Sakura tree!' Jacklyn was fascinated. 'Oh, yeah. It's May. No wonder the Sakura flowers are blooming.'

She approached the Sakura tree and admired it from close distance.

'It's very beautiful,' she thought as she touched the trunk of the Sakura tree.

She sat down and leaned her back against the trunk. She stared at her sketchbook, which now had a burnt mark on the edge of it.

'Darn that Natsume! He burnt my precious sketchbook!' she thought angrily as she touched the burnt mark.

She held her sketchbook closely and reminisced the years that she had gone through before she finally ended up at Alice academy.

'_Don't draw those unused things too much.'_

'_Better study for your future. Your grades aren't too good.'_

'_Take a look at Izu. She's diligent and obedient than you.'_

'_Her grades are excellent. Why don't you follow her than keep on making the dead things?'_

'_You're the older daughter, but you have no use at all. Izu's better.'_

'I'm not Izu,' Jacklyn thought sadly. 'I'm Jacklyn. I'm not her.'

She held her sketchbook tightly as she said, "I hate you, Izu…I hate you…"

"Don't bring those bad thoughts here," a voice said. "This is my sacred place."

Jacklyn snapped out of her thought. "Who's that?" she asked as she looked around, but found no one there.

"You disturbed my sleep," the voice said again.

Jacklyn then remembered that annoyed voice. 'Natsume, huh?' she thought, annoyed.

She didn't find anyone near there, so she looked up and found a figure lying on a branch of the Sakura tree.

"I didn't see you before. How do I know that I would disturb you?" she said, still annoyed. "And I didn't shout either."

"You're talking loud enough for me to hear, sketchbook girl," he, or rather, Natsume said while still lying on the branch.

"What are you? A dog? A cat?" she asked, pissed off.

"Nobody," Natsume replied. "Now shut up or I'll burn your sketchbook again."

Jacklyn narrowed her eyes. "Don't you dare."

And a small fire appeared again on her sketchbook, on the burnt mark. Jacklyn was startled and quickly standing up. She swished her sketchbook up and down to put out the fire.

"Darn you, Natsume! Put it out! PUT THE FIRE OUT!" she scowled at him as she swished her sketchbook.

"I've told you to shut up," he replied, irritated.

"I didn't do anything wrong!" she retorted. "I just said one sentence and you burned my sketchbook!"

"That's your fault," he replied simply.

"Tch!" Jacklyn was panicked and angry. The sketchbook was her precious thing. She wouldn't let it end this way. In her panic, she did an unexpected thing.

She patted her hand on the fire, trying to extinguish it. She didn't care if her hand was burnt back then. All she cared was her sketchbook.

"Darn it! Just put out, will you?!" she hissed as she kept on patting her sketchbook.

Finally the fire extinguished. Jacklyn sighed in relief, but she was just aware that her hand got a burnt scar, her right hand.

"Ouch…" she winced in a low voice as she looked at her right hand. 'Great! My sketchbook is safe, but not my hand. And it's the right one!' she wailed in her thought.

"You're stupid, aren't you?" Natsume said as he jumped down from the branch.

Jacklyn threw a 'what-do-you-want-now?' glare at him. He ignored the glare and approached her.

"What?" she asked angrily.

"Go to the hospital. They can treat your wound there," Natsume said without any expression pf his face.

"What's with the sudden change?" she asked again, still angry.

"I've told you. It's up to you now," he said as he turned to his back and started to walk away.

Jacklyn just realized that he was alone. "Hey! Where's your blonde friend?" she asked in wonder.

Natsume stopped and glanced at her from his shoulder. "He's not with me and his name is Ruka, not blonde." And he continued to walk again.

'Weird guy,' Jacklyn thought after Natsume had disappeared from her eyesight. She sat again and looked at her burnt hand.

'_You're stupid, aren't you?'_

She sighed. 'I couldn't think back then,' she thought as she looked down at the green grass. Then she stared at her sketchbook. The burnt mark was wider than before. Well, a little.

'It's good that it just got burnt on the edge,' she thought. 'I'll kill him if he burnt it on the center.'

She opened her sketchbook and found her first drawing, a Sakura petal. She smiled. 'This is the first drawing that I made when mom gave me this sketchbook.' She looked more deeply at the drawing. 'It has been a long time since I drew this Sakura petal. I never saw it again,' she thought as she touched the drawing. 'So this is how it feels, to touch your own drawing. I've never touched it before. It's felt…' she chuckled, '…flat.' She kept on touching the drawing as she thought, 'Who is the weird people that said it feels alive when we touch it?'

But something went wrong.

Jacklyn was wide-eyed when she found out that her drawing, the Sakura petal, was gone.

'No…' she thought in surprise. 'Where did it go?'

She felt something in her hand. As she took a look at her hand, she found a Sakura petal on it.

'Is…is it real?' she thought as she rubbed it gently. She felt the same soft feeling as if she was touching the real Sakura petal. 'No way,' she thought, disbelieved.

She put the Sakura petal back in her sketchbook and closed it. She looked around, making sure that no one saw what just happened. She sighed in relief when she knew that no one was there and looked at her wristwatch. Her eyes widened.

'Oh no! Jinno-sensei's class will start in fifteen minutes!' she thought in panic as she quickly stood up and ran to her class, which she didn't remember where it was.

-x-

After forty five minutes, Jacklyn finally found her class. Now, she was in front of the class door, thinking whether she opened the door or not.

'It's not so bad to try,' she thought as she knocked the door and pushed it open.

A scary teacher with glasses looked at her with a pair of threatening eyes. She could feel a dangerous aura around him.

"I'm sorry, Jinno-sensei. I was a little lost in direction," she said with a small smile on her face, trying to be kind.

But to no avail, she could feel his aura more dangerous than before.

"Do you know how long you've been late?" he asked dangerously.

"Yes, Sensei. Thirty minutes," she said, trying to be polite.

"And you know there's a consequence for it?" he asked again.

"Yes, Sensei," she replied, wondering what the consequence would be.

"Good. Now, go back to your seat. You'll get the consequence later," Jinno said as he turned to his back.

"Yes, Sensei," she replied again as she walked to her seat.

On her way, she spotted Sumire's mocking smile. Jacklyn stuck out her tongue a little at her as she rolled her eyes. A frowning expression showed up on the green-haired girl's face.

"Sensei! This new girl just mocked you from behind!" Sumire reported the fake fact to Jinno.

Jinno glared at Jacklyn and Sumire.

"No, I'm not, Sensei," Jacklyn defended with an innocent face. "She's the one who did it," she said as she pointed at Sumire.

Sumire snapped her head to Jacklyn then to Jinno. Jinno had a dangerous glare with him now.

"Um…I…Not me, Sensei! Believe me!" Sumire said as she pleaded not to be punished.

Jinno glared at Jacklyn. Jacklyn was still showing her innocent face. Then Jinno glared back at Sumire.

"Detention, Shouda-san! Stay in the class after the classes over," Jinno said as he turned to the blackboard again, continuing his lesson.

Sumire threw a death glare at Jacklyn. Jacklyn just smirked as she proceeded her way to her seat.

When she was close to her seat, her eyes locked with Mikan's. Her face showed that she was worried.

"Are you okay, Jacklyn-chan?" she whispered, carefully not to be noticed by Jinno.

Jacklyn just smiled and nodded as she sat on her seat. Her eyes caught a glimpse of Natsume, who was sitting beside Mikan, before she sat down. But she decided to ignore it. She intended to rest her chin on her hands when suddenly she winced at a stinging pain in her right hand.

'Ouch! I forgot that my right hand was burnt! Darn it!' she thought as she put down her right hand under the desk.

Natsume didn't realize about this. As you know, he covered his face with manga and pretended to sleep.

During the class, Jacklyn couldn't note anything on her notebook because her right hand was wounded. And the worst part was Jinno taught Math! She was weak at Math.

She could feel her pain getting worse from time to time. Sweats started to roll down on her temple. Then suddenly, Jinno faced the class. He looked at a certain black-haired girl that was sitting in front of Mikan.

"Jacklyn-san," he called. Jacklyn looked up. He gave out a sly smile and said, "Solve the problem number 3."

"Yes, Sensei," she replied as she stood up from her seat.

She walked to the blackboard and took a chalk. She tried to concentrate on the question, but her pain got the best of her.

"What's wrong?" Jinno said with his sly smile. "Can't solve the problem?"

'Darn!' Jacklyn tried to concentrate again as she held back the pain.

"Jinno-sensei," a familiar voice said. Jacklyn whipped her head to the sound and knew it was Koko. "She is-" but before Koko finished his sentence, Jacklyn glared at him silently.

'Don't say anything! I'll kill you if you tell him,' she thought, knowing that Koko would read her mind.

"What are you trying to say, Koko?" Jinno asked in a deep voice.

"Um, nothing, Sensei," Koko said as he quickly waved his hands in front of him.

Jacklyn looked back at the blackboard and concentrated to the question again. Then she heard some unpleasant silent laughs from some girls.

'Probably Sumire and those fan girls,' she thought as another sweat rolled down on her temple.

But the laugh didn't stop and Jinno just let them be. She had tried to ignore it, but with the pressure of the question and pain, she finally got enough of it.

BAM!!

The class was surprised at her sudden action, even Jinno, except for a girl with stoic face and Natsume who just removed the manga from his face to see what had caused the commotion.

Jacklyn had punched the blackboard. She was too angry to hold the laugh, the damn Math question, and the pain on her right hand.

"I'm sorry about this, Sensei," she said as she pulled back her hand from the hole on the blackboard. "May I have your permission to skip this class?"

Jinno wanted to give her the detention, but he spotted her right hand was bleeding and there was a burnt scar too.

"Just today. Next time, I'll give you a detention if you do this again," Jinno said in a dangerous tone. "And go to the hospital to have your wounds treated."

Jacklyn looked at him and showed her smile. "Thank you, Sensei. I will."

She walked back to her seat, ignoring the startled Sumire and all students that were watching her movement to her seat. As she arrived at her seat, she took her bag and sketchbook.

Before she turned away, she caught Mikan's worried face. She smiled at the brunette and mouthed 'don't worry' words to her. She glanced at Natsume, who watched her with his expressionless face. She shot him a 'what?' glare. Natsume just gave her a 'stupid' look. Then she walked back to the front of the class.

"I excused myself, Jinno-sensei," she said as she smiled and walked out from the class.

After she closed the door, she walked to the random direction. She thought about what she had done just now.

'I've never done this before. This school is worse than I thought,' she thought, irritated.

She stopped at the corridor and looked around to make sure there was no one there. After she thought it's secure, she opened her sketchbook and turned to its second page, which had a shamrock drawing on it. She touched the drawing and the drawing was gone. The shamrock drawing became a real one in her hand. She rubbed it gently.

'Wow…I can make my drawing become a real thing,' she thought, a little surprised.

She was deep in her thought for a few moments then she remembered. 'Should I tell that gay teacher about this?' she thought as she stared at the shamrock in her hand. 'Yeah. I better tell him than that Jinno.'

She started to walk again for a few steps then she realized that she was lost…again.

'Great! I think I need three or four days to memorize this school's route. Maybe more…' She sighed as she started to walk again.

"Jacklyn-chan?" a familiar cheery man's voice could be heard from behind her.

Jacklyn turned her head and found the gay teacher, Narumi, standing behind her with a smile on his face.

"Did Jinno-sensei give you permission to miss his class?" Narumi asked in a kind voice.

Jacklyn nodded.

"It's very rare for him to do that, except for Natsume, of course," Narumi said, a little surprised. "What happened?"

"Nothing. Just my right hand," she said as she lifted her right hand that had burnt scar and was bleeding.

Narumi's eyes widened at this sight. "Jacklyn-chan, what happened?"

"A little accident," Jacklyn replied simply as she smiled.

"Are you okay? We better go to the hospital hurriedly. I'll take you there," Narumi said as he took her left hand and walked to the hospital.

"Umm, Sensei…" Jacklyn called, wondering if she should tell him about 'her drawing' incident.

"Hm? What's wrong?" Narumi asked as he smiled.

"I made my drawings alive…" she said, making the teacher stop walking.

She opened sketchbook and showed him the Sakura petal and shamrock inside it. The teacher observed her for a while.

"If you don't mind, can you do it in front of me now?" Narumi asked kindly.

Jacklyn nodded and opened her sketchbook. She decided to open her 'masterpiece' page.

You know, the tangled thread.

She touched it and the drawing was gone. In her hand, the tangled thread appeared. Narumi was fascinated and a satisfaction smile appeared on his face. He opened one of his lesson books that had some drawings in it. He pointed a drawing and looked at her. Jacklyn understood and touched the drawing. It wasn't gone. It was still there. There was nothing in her hand too.

Narumi closed the book. He took out a paper and a pencil. He made a drawing. It was like her masterpiece, the tangled thread. He showed it to her. She touched it again, but nothing happened. Then Narumi gave her the paper and pencil.

"Try to make a drawing and touch it," Narumi said.

Jacklyn took the paper and the pencil. She drew a kind of leaf then she touched it. The drawing was gone. A leaf with the same shape appeared in her hand with its real texture and color. Narumi gave her a wide smile.

"Congratulations! You've found your alice!" Narumi chirped happily.

"So, this is my alice?" she asked.

"Yes, looks like it's the drawing alice," Narumi explained. "It's rare. I hope you can make any use of it."

Jacklyn smiled. 'So, it's a drawing alice, huh,' she thought, a little happy.

"I'll report this to the headmaster," he said. "But before that, we'll have your wounds treated first."

Narumi took her left hand again and they walked to the hospital together.

--To be continued--

**illutia mist: (Wipes her forehead as she smiles) Finally! Her alice has been revealed!**

**Jacklyn: Isn't it too late? You just revealed it in 3rd piece.**

**illutia mist: Whatever. What I know is I have revealed your alice!**

**Jacklyn: (Rolls her eyes) Okay. So, where were those two going?**

**illutia mist: (Shrugs) How do I know? They're suddenly gone in the beginning of the story after Natsume whacked my head one more time (Irritated) and Mikan followed him going nowhere.**

**Jacklyn: Shouldn't you tell them about my alice?**

**illutia mist: Nope. I won't. I'll hold it as a secret until the time has arrived.**

**Jacklyn: So, they won't appear in this chit-chat room for a while?**

**illutia mist was silent for a while after Jacklyn said that.**

**illutia mist: To tell you the truth, I miss them. Maybe they'll show up in this chit-chat room before and after the story. I'll try my best to shoo them away before the story begin.**

**Jacklyn: (Sighs) What a freaky author.**

**illutia mist: (Glares at Jacklyn) I'm kidding! But they still won't know about your alice, no matter how hard they try. I have planned the time to reveal your alice in this story. (Sighs)**

**Jacklyn: (Folds her arms in front of her chest) So, how long you'll keep this as a secret?**

**illutia mist: The start of the problem will come. I plan to write what happen atoyou for approximately (Puts a finger on her chin, thinking)…a week in Alice Academy.**

**Jacklyn: (Eyes widen a little) You're an insane creator. How long that'll be?**

**illutia mist: (Shrugs) Take it easy. **

**Jacklyn: Not for the readers.**

**illutia mist: That's an important week that will turn your life…I think.**

**Jacklyn: (Sighs) What a maniac author. Sorry, readers. Please stand this freaky author's indescribable mind.**

**illutia mist: (Pouts) Jacklyn, that's so not nice saying that to your creator. (Grins) But, I agree too. (Smiles) Sorry if this week will eat long chapters, or rather, pieces. But it's just for this week. And after that, all will be back to normal.**

**Suddenly a flat board hit the poor illutia on her head and caused her to faint. Jacklyn looked at the words that were written on it and read it loud.**

**Jacklyn: Thank you for reading and please review. Who threw this board anyway?**

**Then a certain brunette ran to Jacklyn's direction.**

**Mikan: (Scratches the back of her head) Sorry. I'm having a fight with Natsume. I intended to throw that to him but it missed. Is there any victim of this board?**

**Jacklyn pointed to the ground and Mikan looked at the direction. She found illutia lying there, unconscious.**

**Mikan: (Sweat drops) Oh…**


	4. 4th Piece: First Friends

**Mikan: Um…illutia?**

**illutia mist: (Glances at her) What?**

**Mikan: Is the lump on your head just fine?**

**illutia mist: (Mutters darkly) I hope I could say that.**

**Jacklyn: Don't worry. That lump won't make a stupid person like her more stupid.**

**illutia threw a glare at Jacklyn.**

**Jacklyn: (Expressionless) Nah. It won't affect me.**

**illutia mist: (Cries waterfall) Why are you so mean?**

**Jacklyn: What?**

**illutia mist: (Gets annoyed then waves her hands on the air) I'm your creator!! Show me some respect!!**

**Jacklyn: (Rolls her eyes) Whatever, creator.**

**illutia mist: (Cries waterfall again) How could you be so cold to your creator?**

**Mikan: (Sweat drops) Uhh, sorry, good readers. We better leave those two and go to the story now.**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**4th Piece: First Friends**

"For your assignment, solve the problems from page 50 until 55," Jinno said with his stern face. "It better has been done by next week or there will be a punishment for it," he added with a glint of evil in his eyes.

KRRRIIINNNGGGG!! The bell rang.

After Jinno went out from the class, all students were groaning and protesting. Of course it was because of the assignment that was given by Jinno.

"He's a killer!!" a student shouted.

"He thinks we just have to do his subject! He's evil!" the other student shouted.

"I'm dead!" a brunette stated desperately as she bumped her forehead to the desk.

"So, Polka-dots is dead," a certain raven-haired boy, who was sitting beside her, muttered as he read his manga.

The brunette turned her face to him, still lying on the desk. "How can't I? There are six pages with ten numbers questions on each page which in total was sixty questions!" she wailed, depressed.

"It can be done in a half day," he answered nonchalantly.

"Yeah. If it's you, Natsume, maybe it can be done in a half day," the brunette retorted in a sarcastic tone, "and I bet that you won't help me even if I ask you."

"Good if you know," Natsume said, still reading his manga.

"What a good partner you are," she murmured, sighing.

"Mikan-chan," Nonoko called as she and Anna approached the brunette.

Mikan lifted her head. "What's wrong, Nonoko?"

"We wanted to ask you something before but we forgot," Anna said as she smiled.

"What is it?" Mikan was curious.

"It's when you nominated yourself to be Jacklyn-chan's partner," Nonoko said. "You said that you've met her two days ago. How did you meet her?"

"Oh, that," Mikan smiled, "Hotaru and I were in rush to the last-period class when I met Narumi-sensei in the way. He carried her in his arms. She was unconscious that time, so maybe she didn't know me."

"So, that is," Nonoko said with an understanding expression.

"I was surprised when she made a hole on the blackboard some times ago," Anna said in disbelief. "It looks like she isn't a rebel type. I wonder…"

"Well, I know what she thought back then," a familiar voice said.

"Koko?" Mikan looked at the owner of the voice with a puzzled face.

"Yes," Koko smiled as he approached the girls, "I was about to tell Jinno-sensei when she threatened me in her thought."

Natsume listened as he pretended to read his manga.

"Will you be alright if you tell us about that?" Mikan asked, between curious and worried.

Koko shrugged. "Let's hope that her alice isn't a dangerous type," he said in submission.

"Okay…" Mikan was unsure. "So, what was she thought back then?"

"She was already pissed off even before Jinno called her. Her hand was in pain and it worsened from time to time. She couldn't make any note, whereas in fact, she's weak at Math. She couldn't concentrate during the class because of the pain. When she was concentrated to solve the problem that Jinno gave her, she heard some unpleasing sounds. And when she has gotten enough of all of it, there she was, leaving a mark on the blackboard," Koko finished as he moved his hands, pointing the hole on the blackboard which was in front of the class.

"So she was extremely pissed off," Mikan concluded, sweat dropped.

"Talking about her," Anna butted in, "we have to tell her about this assignment. Moreover, she's weak at Math."

"Yeah. That's right," Nonoko agreed. "But where did she go? She hasn't come back even the class has been over."

"Oh, yeah. She hasn't been acquainted with the others in this class. She suddenly ran out, remember?" Anna added. "Maybe she was lost back then. That's why she's late for Jinno-sensei's class."

Mikan, as a caring person, was worried about Jacklyn. Moreover, she was her partner. "I'll search for her," she said as she stood up.

Natsume glanced at the brunette from behind his manga, watching her figure run and disappear behind the door.

'Act before think. Typical of her. Where will she search for that sketchbook girl anyway?' he thought.

Natsume closed his manga and stood up. He held his manga between his left arm and hip and shoved his hands into the pockets then walked to the door.

"Natsume," a blonde boy with a pair of cerulean eyes called as he followed him.

Natsume turned to him. "I have to go somewhere. Don't follow me, Ruka," he said with an expressionless face.

Ruka looked at him worriedly and nodded. Natsume turned away and disappeared behind the door.

'Natsume…' he thought as he looked at the door where his best friend just disappeared.

-x-

"Right hand, huh? It's worse," the doctor said as he observed her wounded right hand. "Are you left-handed?"

"No," Jacklyn replied simply.

"We must use the healing alice to recover this wound, but the problem is all of the healing alice-users still have their jobs to be done," the doctor said again, sighing.

Just then, a man with black hair and glasses came in. he spotted the doctor and the black- haired girl.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he approached them.

"Good timing, Subaru Imai. This girl got wounded on her right hand," the doctor said as the man observing the wound.

'Imai?' Jacklyn asked in her thought. 'I think I ever heard that name. But if I'm not mistaken, I heard a calm girl's voice back then," she thought as she reminiscing the time when she was a half-conscious. 'Coincidence? Maybe.'

"How did you get the burnt scar?" the man who was called Subaru Imai asked.

"My sketchbook got burnt. I tried to extinguish it by patting the fire with my right hand," she replied calmly.

"Just for a sketchbook?" the doctor asked, not believing what he had just heard.

Jacklyn fell silent for a moment then muttered, "It's my precious thing…" She looked at her sketchbook on her lap.

The black-haired man didn't say a thing and brought his hand on to her hand. A faint glow appeared and the wounded healed little by little then gone. Jacklyn was amazed.

"Is this the healing alice?" she asked as she looked at the man.

"Yes, it is," he said in a stoic face.

Jacklyn smiled as she said, "Thank you for the help."

"You're welcome," he replied.

"Okay, little girl, you may go now," the doctor said with a smile. "Don't hurt yourself again."

"Thank you, doctor. Umm, where is Narumi-sensei?" she asked, searching for the gay teacher.

"He said he'll go to the headmaster's office. What's wrong?" the doctor asked.

"Nothing," Jacklyn shook her head. "Please tell him that I've went back if he come to check on me," she said as she looked at the doctor.

"Yes, I will," the doctor smiled again.

"Thank you, doctor, Imai-san. I excused myself." She stood up and walked out from the door.

She walked along the hospital corridor. When she was about to turn at a corner, she spotted a familiar person. She quickly hid. She just spotted that person's back, but she already knew who that was.

"Check up again, Natsume-kun?" a nurse asked.

"Hn," he replied.

"How was it?" the nurse asked again, concerned.

"Nothing changes much," he replied nonchalantly.

"Have you taken your medicine?" she asked again.

"Hn," Natsume replied again. "But nothing changes."

"It's okay, Natsume-kun. You'll be fine," she convinced him.

Jacklyn, who had listened to the conversation by accidentally, had a lot of questions in her head. 'Is he sick?'

"Well, see you later, Natsume-kun," the nurse said and the footsteps sound was heard moving away from them.

Jacklyn decided to go out from her hideout, walking like usual as if she didn't hear anything.

Natsume heard footsteps, so he turned to his back just to see the sketchbook girl walking to his direction. They just stared at each other.

"Hey," Jacklyn greeted as she raised her right palm to greet him. Natsume didn't greet back, just getting silent as he continued to stare at her. "What?" she asked as she arched an eyebrow, feeling eerie being stared by him.

"So it has recovered," he finally said.

Jacklyn nodded.

"How long did it take you to find this hospital?" Natsume smirked.

"Narumi-sensei took me here," Jacklyn said, expressionless.

"Lucky," Natsume commented.

"Yes," she smiled.

Natsume was almost dumbfounded at her reaction. 'Double faces,' he thought as he remembered her attitude at Jinno's class.

"Are you going back to class?" Jacklyn asked kindly.

"Why?" he asked in a bored tone.

"Narumi-sensei went to the headmaster office. I don't know the way back to class," she explained with a 'what's-wrong-with-that-tone?' look.

"Have fun then," Natsume said as he turned to his back and walked away.

"Hey! Wait!" Jacklyn chased him.

They went out from the hospital. Jacklyn just followed Natsume, not too caring where she went. They were walking in silence. Jacklyn was deep in her thought.

'I wonder what they're thinking about me now. They must be afraid of me. Why not? Making a hole on the blackboard? It's unbelievable! Even I was surprised at what I have done. Now no one wants to befriend me,' she thought sadly.

Suddenly, Natsume stopped. Jacklyn, who was deep in her thought, kept walking until she bumped onto his back.

"Ow!" she wailed as she held her face with her palm.

"Why are you following me?" Natsume asked, irritated.

"I don't know the way back, so I decided to follow you," Jacklyn replied as she pulled away her palm from her face.

"Stop following me," Natsume said as he started to walk again.

"I better follow you than stuck in that place," she stated as she bent her eyebrows and followed him again.

"You better stay in one place than wondering around if you're lost," he said without looking at her.

"I thought so. But I'm just following what my feeling tells me and it told me to follow you," Jacklyn said, trying to catch up with him every second.

"Whatever," Natsume muttered. Jacklyn rolled her eyes. They were walking in silence again.

"Hey," Jacklyn started a conversation. "May I call you Natsume?"

"You've called me that before," Natsume replied, still walking.

"Oh…yeah…" she murmured as she smiled a little.

The silence came again as something suddenly bothered her mind.

"Are they…afraid of me…?" Jacklyn asked hesitantly.

Natsume glanced at her from the corner of his eye. Jacklyn was looking at the ground, still following him. But after she heard nothing from Natsume for a minute, she felt uncomfortable.

"Umm…never mind that," she said as she smiled at him.

Once again, Natsume suddenly stopped. Jacklyn stopped too before she bumped into him again. He jumped to a branch and that made Jacklyn realize that they were at the Sakura tree.

"Hey, how did you do that?" Jacklyn asked as she looked up at him.

"Jump," Natsume replied simply as he lay his back on the trunk and started to read his manga.

"I know. But it's high and you reached there just in a jump," she said as if the action was amazing.

"Whatever. Don't disturb me," Natsume said nonchalantly.

Jacklyn just sighed and sat down under the tree. She stared at nowhere for a while then she took out her pencil-color box from her bag. She opened her sketchbook and started to draw. She drew twelve butterflies with many beautiful colors as she smiled to no one. She liked the feeling when she drew. She felt happy and comfortable.

"NATSUME!!" a familiar cheery voice called as a figure ran to their direction.

Jacklyn looked up and saw a brunette coming to their direction.

"Tch. Polka-dots," she heard Natsume grunt from the branch. 'Polka-dots?' she thought in confusion.

The brunette went nearer then she saw a black-haired girl instead of a raven-haired boy.

"Jacklyn-chan?" she called, unsure.

"Sakura?" Jacklyn recognized her.

The brunette smiled a warm smile and said, "I've been searching for you everywhere."

"You're…searching for me?" Jacklyn asked, her eyes widened a little.

"Yeah, but I couldn't find you anywhere," Mikan said as she stood beside the sketchbook girl. "I just want to ask Natsume to help."

Jacklyn pointed her finger up. Mikan was confused at first, but then she looked up and found the person she had been searching a few seconds ago.

"Natsume! There you are!" Mikan's smile widened.

"You disturb me again, Polka," Natsume said as he kept reading his manga.

"Hey! Don't call me that! I have a name, you know!" she pouted.

"Yeah. It's Polka-dots," Natsume teased.

"NO! IT'S MIKAN!!" she yelled angrily.

"You'll make me deaf, especially the one that's beside you," he said coolly.

Mikan then realized that there was someone beside her. It's Jacklyn. Jacklyn was just silent as she watched their quarrel.

"Are you two lovers?" Jacklyn asked suddenly.

Natsume bent an eyebrow while Mikan blushed furiously. Jacklyn raised an eyebrow at her reaction.

"WHERE DID YOU GET THAT IDEA?!" Mikan shouted while blushing. Jacklyn flinched at her shout.

"Polka, your shout will kill her," Natsume reminded her.

Mikan blinked then she said, "Oh no! I'm sorry, Jacklyn-chan!"

Jacklyn smiled. "It's okay, Sakura."

"Just call me Mikan," Mikan said as she sat beside Jacklyn.

"So, are you two lovers?" Jacklyn asked again, making Mikan blush again.

"No," Mikan stated, still blushing.

"I don't like that Polka-dots," Natsume said firmly.

"Oh…" Jacklyn wondered. 'But my feeling tells that they have a very deep connection yet complicated,' she thought as she looked at Mikan. "Why did you search for me?" Jacklyn asked.

"To tell you that Jin-Jin gave us an assignment," Mikan said as she sighed.

"Jin-Jin?" Jacklyn was confused.

"Jinno-sensei," Mikan replied.

"From your face, looks like it's not a fun one," Jacklyn guessed, thinking about Jinno's discipline and evilness.

"Yeah. The assignment is from page 50 until 55. Six pages, ten questions on each page. The total is sixty questions," Mikan explained in depression.

"I told you. It can be done in a half day," Natsume said from the tree branch.

"Yeah. And I've told you that if it's you, it's possible," Mikan retorted.

"You're weak at Math too?" Jacklyn asked.

"Sort of," Mikan grunted.

"Me too. Don't worry." Jacklyn smiled. "We can do this assignment together if you want."

Mikan smiled back at her. "Of course," she said happily.

"We just need a tutor to teach us," Jacklyn suggested. "Any recommendation?"

"Yeah. The person who said that it can be done in a half day," Mikan teased as she glanced at the branch where Natsume was laying.

"Won't," he replied simply.

"Meanie!" she retorted.

"Whatever. Don't involve me," Natsume stated.

Jacklyn stared at them. 'It's really like a lovers' quarrel,' she thought.

"He's always like that?" Jacklyn whispered to Mikan.

"Mostly. But sometimes he could be relied on to," Mikan whispered back.

"You like him?" Jacklyn whispered, hoping for a true answer.

"Not really," Mikan said as she blushed a little.

"…Does that mean…you like him?" Jacklyn teased, still whispering.

Mikan's face reddened more. "No!" she hissed.

Jacklyn just smiled, but her smile was suddenly gone as she remembered something. "You're…not afraid of me?" she asked, unsure.

Mikan blinked twice. "Why?" she asked stupidly.

"You've seen what I've done to the blackboard…" Jacklyn replied as she gazed her eyes to the other direction.

"Oh yeah. I was surprised, but I'm not scared of you," Mikan said as she smiled.

"I never did that before…" Jacklyn muttered. "…I'm sorry…"

"What for?" Mikan asked, confused.

"For scaring all of you," Jacklyn replied sadly.

"Hey! We're just surprised there's someone that dares to do that in Jin-Jin's class. We're not scared," Mikan convinced her. "We're friends, right?"

Jacklyn was touched when she heard that. Before, she was afraid that no one wanted to be her friend, moreover after they had seen her make a hole just with her right hand. "We're…friends…?" she asked, uncertain.

"Yes. Natsume and I will be your first friends because you haven't known the others," Mikan smiled. "Don't worry. They'll be your friends too when you have known them."

"Don't involve me. I've said it before, Polka," Natsume said from the tree branch.

"Natsume, that's rude!" Mikan pouted and scolded him.

"Whatever, Polka-dots," Natsume muttered.

Wind was blowing gently, bringing some Sakura petals along with it. Some of them fell onto the three who was under the tree.

Jacklyn smiled her most gentle smile. She had friends, her first friends. 'Maybe this school isn't as bad as I thought,' she thought happily. She wanted to give her first friends a present.

When Natsume was focusing his attention to his manga and Mikan was enjoying the gentle wind that caressed her face, Jacklyn opened her sketchbook. She opened the page where the twelve butterflies with beautiful colors lay on. She touched all of them and…

PLAAASSSHHH!!

All of them flew away from her sketchbook, flying around them with their beautiful colors.

Mikan was fascinated at the sight. "Wow!! Where were these butterflies come from?" she asked as she admired the beautiful scene. Natsume looked up from his manga when he heard Mikan's question, wondering what was happening. He saw some of the butterflies flying around him too.

"It's a present," Jacklyn said as she leaned her back on the tree trunk, suddenly feeling so tired.

Mikan looked at her and blinked. "Present?" she asked, confused. Natsume looked at the two girls under the tree.

"For you two," Jacklyn continued, "my first friends."

Mikan realized that Jacklyn looked so exhausted. "Jacklyn-chan, are you okay?" she asked, concerned.

Jacklyn nodded. "I'm fine," she said as a smile appeared on her face.

Mikan stared at her and asked, "Is this your alice?" Jacklyn just smiled as she slowly drifted to sleep. "Jacklyn-chan?" Mikan was worried because she was silent all of a sudden.

"She's sleeping," Natsume said nonchalantly as he looked at the sleeping sketchbook girl from the branch.

Mikan sighed in relief then she looked at those butterflies. "Natsume, do you think this is her alice?"

Natsume shrugged. "Don't know," he said as he looked at the brunette who still admired those butterflies.

Those butterflies were flying around her as she twirled around, as if she was dancing with them. Natsume stared at her from the branch, admiring her beautiful figure. He had had a crush on her since they were ten, but she was too dense to realize his feeling for her. And now, here he was, admiring her once again. It's really a beautiful sight for him.

And Jacklyn, she was sleeping peacefully, bringing her happiness and hope that her present was a good one for both of her first friends.

--To be continued--

**illutia mist: (Mutters) Jacklyn is so cold to me.**

**Mikan: I wonder. You're the one who created her, right?**

**illutia mist: Well, that's her personality. She has many personalities, you know. Sometimes I wonder why I created a character with that many personalities.**

**Mikan: How do I know?**

**illutia mist: (Looks around) And now she's nowhere to be found.**

**Mikan: She said she wants to cool herself from the mouth-fight with you before.**

**illutia mist: (Mutters) I think I'll create another character again. Maybe one day.**

**Mikan: Or maybe never. **

**illutia mist: Still in the plan. (Grins)**

**Mikan: (Rolls her eyes) Whatever you like.**

**illutia mist: By the way, it looks like the readers have finished reading this chapter. Please do the closing!**

**Mikan: (Smiles) Oh yeah. Thank you for reading and please review. She'll update as soon as she can. (Points at illutia)**

**illutia mist: Oh, and for those who haven't seen Jacklyn, the link is in my profile. See you in the next chapter! XD**


	5. 5th Piece: The Other Fans Club

**illutia mist: Hi! Hi! This is illutia mist again!!**

**Jacklyn: (Annoyed) You're too loud. Can you calm down even for a while?**

**illutia mist: (Look at Jacklyn) Oh, you're back.**

**Jacklyn: …Maybe I'll just go somewhere again to cool my head.**

**illutia mist: (Panicked) NO! NO! DON'T!**

**Jacklyn: (Raises an eyebrow) And why is that?**

**illutia mist: (Puppy eyes) I'm lonely here…**

**Jacklyn: Not my business. (Walks away)**

**illutia mist: WAIT!! (Chases Jacklyn)**

**Mikan: (From far away) What's wrong with illutia?**

**Natsume: Being dumped by her own character.**

**Mikan: It's too harsh for her.**

**Natsume: And it's the truth.**

**Mikan: Can't you be a little soft to her?**

**Natsume: Nope. She doesn't own us nor Gakuen Alice and the other characters.**

**Mikan: (Sweat drops) Oh…Okay…**

**And the two continued watching illutia chasing Jacklyn. Oh, well.**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**5th Piece: The Other Fans Club**

RIIINGG!!

An arm stretched from below an orange colored blanket, searching for the source of the noisy sound.

RIIINNGGG!!

The arm searched on the bedside table and finally grabbed something. The owner of the arm sat up, causing the blanket to fall forward and reveal a girl with black hair holding the alarm clock in front of her.

She rubbed her eyes to see the alarm clock then yawned. After she recovered a little of her conscious, she stared at the alarm clock and arched an eyebrow.

"I don't remember that I brought an alarm clock with me," she murmured.

She lifted her head and gazed around the unfamiliar room. It was bigger than her room. Well, a little bigger. She felt something moving beside her. She gazed her eyes to 'that thing' and saw a few strands of auburn hair stuck out from below the blanket. She lifted the blanket and saw Mikan lying there.

"Mikan?" Jacklyn was surprised a little.

She hesitated, but she must wake the brunette due to the alarm clock that rang a few minutes ago.

"Mikan, wake up. The alarm clock has rung," Jacklyn said as she patted the brunette on the cheek gently.

The brunette stirred a little and opened her eyes slowly. She spotted Jacklyn sitting beside her on the bed.

"Jacklyn-chan? What's wrong?" she asked sleepily.

"The alarm has rung a few minutes ago. Sorry. I've turned it off," Jacklyn said as she showed the alarm clock. Mikan's eyes widened.

"OH NO!! WE'RE LATE!!" she suddenly shouted and jumped off from the bed. "WE'RE LATE! WE'RE LATE!!" she kept shouting as she ran to the bathroom.

Jacklyn was dumbfounded for a moment then she looked at herself. She still wore her uniform. She didn't quite remember how she could end up in Mikan's room. She got off from the bed and spotted her bag and sketchbook on the table. She grabbed her sketchbook and got the pencil-colors from her bag. She drew a toothpaste, a toothbrush, and a small towel then she touched it.

Mikan finally got out from her bathroom. Jacklyn walked to her.

"May I use your bathroom? I need to fix myself too," she said politely.

Mikan smiled as she prepared things for classes and said, "Of course." Then her eyes spotted a toothbrush and a tooth paste in Jacklyn's hand. "Is that all yours?" she asked as she pointed the toothbrush in Jacklyn's hand. Jacklyn just nodded then she walked into the bathroom, leaving Mikan with a question in her head. 'Does she always bring her toothbrush and toothpaste everywhere?' she thought when she spotted a white towel hanging on her shoulder, 'And her towel too?'

In five minutes, Jacklyn had finished fixing herself and went out refreshingly from the bathroom. She shoved her toothbrush, toothpaste, and the towel inside her bag.

"Thank you for letting me use your bathroom, Mikan," she said as she smiled at the brunette.

"It's okay, Jacklyn-chan," Mikan said. "Let's go! We've been late!"

Then they ran out from Mikan's room and turned, ran, turned, ran until they finally got out from the dormitory. They crossed the path and green field and reached the Junior High School Building. Jacklyn just let Mikan drag her because she hadn't memorized the school map. After a few minutes being dragged…

BUMP!

It's like a slow motion scene. Jacklyn, who was been dragged behind, saw Mikan almost falling after bumped into someone. Initiatively, she quickly went behind the brunette and prevented her from falling.

"It was very close," Jacklyn said as she sighed. "Are you okay, Mikan?"

Mikan straightened herself as she looked at Jacklyn. "Yes, I'm okay. Thank you, Jacklyn-chan," she smiled.

Both of them then looked at the person which Mikan bumped into.

And as usual, it's Natsume. He looked irritated.

"Good morning, Natsume!" Mikan greeted him with a big smile.

"Tch." He looked away.

"Good morning," Jacklyn greeted.

Natsume glanced at her and…

"NOT AGAIN!!" Jacklyn shouted as she swished her sketchbook. It got burnt again. Natsume just played a smirk on his lips.

"NATSUME!!" Mikan scowled him.

SMACK!!

Jacklyn hit his head with her sketchbook. A vein was on her head.

"What have I done to you that you have to burn my sketchbook?!" she scowled.

Natsume just threw a glare at her. Jacklyn glared back at him. And the glaring contest between them began.

"Natsume?"

Mikan looked at the direction of the voice. "Ruka-pyon! Good morning!" she greeted him.

Natsume and Jacklyn ended their glaring contest and looked at the aforementioned person. A blonde-haired boy with a pair of cerulean eyes smiled at them.

"Good morning, Natsume," he greeted the crimson-eyed boy.

"Ruka," Natsume called the blonde boy's name.

Ruka looked at Jacklyn. "Good morning, um…" he greeted her, but stopped because he didn't know her name.

"Jacklyn. Good morning," Jacklyn smiled.

"Double faces," Natsume muttered. Jacklyn glared at him.

"Good morning, my dear students," a familiar cheery gay's voice said. "All of you are late."

The four of them looked at the gay teacher, Narumi.

"Good morning, Narumi-sensei," Mikan greeted him.

"Good morning," Ruka greeted him.

Jacklyn just bowed her head a little and Natsume looked away.

"What are you doing here?" Narumi asked as a smile appeared on his face.

Natsume turned away. "Let's go, Ruka," he said then he walked away. Ruka followed him to the class.

"Natsume, wait!!" Mikan chased the two best friends, leaving Narumi and Jacklyn behind.

Jacklyn looked at Narumi. Narumi smiled at her.

"I heard you shout a while ago. Your shout is almost as amazing as Mikan's," Narumi teased her.

Jacklyn bent her eyebrows. "That cocky boy burnt my sketchbook again. And I don't know what the reason is," she said in annoyance. "I just helped Mikan so she wouldn't fall after she bumped into him. And when I greeted him, he burnt my sketchbook."

Narumi chuckled. "Ah, he has his own reason," he said mysteriously. Jacklyn arched an eyebrow. 'Looks like he didn't like you spoiling his fun, Jacklyn-chan,' he thought as he smiled at the confused girl.

Jacklyn stared at Narumi for a while then she swished her hand up and down, giving him a signal to bend down. Narumi bent a little so his head was on the same level with her head.

"What is it, Jacklyn-chan?" Narumi asked, smiling.

"About my alice…Please don't tell anyone about that," Jacklyn said hesitantly.

Narumi raised his eyebrows. "Why?" he asked.

"I just…want to keep it to myself…can I?" Jacklyn pleaded with an innocent face. 'Actually, I'm afraid they'll look down at me because of my alice,' she thought.

Narumi thought for a while then he smiled. "Okay. It's up to you. But the headmaster and the other teachers have the right to know. They have been told about your alice," he said.

Jacklyn smiled and said, "No problem. Thank you, Sensei." Then she ran to the classroom.

Narumi sighed as he watched the girl's back disappeared behind the door then he proceeded his way to the classroom.

Jacklyn walked to her seat which was in front of Mikan. She tried to ignore every person who looked at her, which were Sumire and the other fan girls. As she sat down on her seat, Narumi went into the classroom.

"Good morning, class," he greeted cheerfully. "Let's start the lesson now."

And the class went on…

-x-

"Mikan, may I ask you something?" Jacklyn asked as she drank her lemon tea.

They were at the cafeteria now. It was lunch time. Jacklyn was very hungry because she hadn't eaten lunch and dinner yesterday. Plus, no breakfast this morning. It wasn't only them on the table. There was Hotaru Imai too. Mikan just introduced her to Jacklyn when they was about to go to the cafeteria.

Mikan looked up from her lunch. "What is it?" she asked.

"How did I end up in your room?" Jacklyn asked, curious.

"Oh, about that," Mikan drank her orange juice so she could clear her throat and started to explain, "After you gave us what you said 'present' yesterday, you fell asleep."

"And?" Jacklyn was really curious.

"After thirty minutes, you haven't woken up, so we decided to take you to the dorm, or rather, I was the one who decided," Mikan explained.

Jacklyn nodded, meaning that she understood the story so far.

"But the robot in the dorm, Takahashi, was in repair. I didn't know where you room is, so we took you to my room," Mikan ended.

"You dragged me to your room?" Jacklyn asked, disbelieved.

Mikan froze for a while then giggled. "Of course not, Jacklyn-chan," she said.

Jacklyn arched an eyebrow. "So, how did you bring me to your room?" she asked in wonder.

"Natsume was the one who carried you," Mikan answered as she smiled.

Jacklyn bent her eyebrows. "That cocky boy?" she asked again. A half was irritated and a half again was disbelieved.

"Yeah. It's hard to persuade him, you know," Mikan said as she ate her lunch again.

"What did you say to him?" Jacklyn was curious.

Mikan shrugged. "I don't know. I just looked at him intently and asked him to carry you. Finally, he gave you a piggy-back ride," she said, satisfied with what she had done yesterday.

Jacklyn just gave her an 'oh' look. 'Sometimes can be relied on, huh,' she thought. Now, she believed what Mikan had told her before. "I think I should thank him for yesterday," Jacklyn said, continuing to eat her lunch.

Just then, two boys entered the cafeteria. The girls were squealing and shouting. Jacklyn looked at the entrance door and finally understood why the girls were shouting. It was them, Natsume and Ruka.

"Long lived that Natsume. He entered when we just finished talking about him," she murmured then she turned back to her lunch and ate it.

Natsume approached their table. He took a seat beside Mikan and Ruka took a seat beside Hotaru who sat beside Jacklyn.

Jacklyn finished her lunch and drank her lemon tea. After she finished drinking her lemon tea, she looked at Natsume who was sitting in front of her.

"Natsume," she called the raven-haired boy. Natsume just glanced at her. She smiled and said, "Thank you for yesterday. Mikan has told me about it."

He didn't reply. Well, it's not a problem for Jacklyn, but not for Mikan. The brunette nudged his arm softly and whispered, "Say something."

"Hn," was all his reply as he looked away. Jacklyn just smiled.

She opened her sketchbook, but she was surprised when she didn't find the Sakura petal and shamrock that she had made alive yesterday. She opened the other page. They were nowhere on all pages. She turned her sketchbook and poked it. Nothing fell from it.

'It's gone…' she thought, shocked. She looked inside her bag. The toothbrush, toothpaste, and the towel were still there. 'Then, how come…' her thought was interrupted when something struck her. 'Maybe…it just can stand for twenty four hours?'

Everyone at the table was looking at her now. She looked up then smiled. "Nothing. Sorry," she said, smiling. 'I better observe it further,' she thought.

"Talking about yesterday, Jacklyn-chan," Mikan suddenly said. Jacklyn looked at her as she smiled. "Those butterflies yesterday, is that your alice?" Mikan looked at her intently.

Jacklyn was silent, wondering she should tell her or not. All persons at the table that consisted of Hotaru, Ruka, and Mikan were paying their attentions to her once again. Natsume also did the same, even though he just glanced at her.

"Sort of," Jacklyn said simply as she smiled.

"So you finally found your alice? What is it?" Mikan asked, excited.

'Should I tell her?' Jacklyn thought deeply. "Um…my alice is…" Jacklyn started.

"If it isn't the non-alice girl," a coquettish voice said.

Jacklyn shifted her gaze to the direction of the voice. She found an unfamiliar wavy-black haired girl. Jacklyn bent her eyebrows. "What do you want?" she asked, a little rude because the girl called her 'non-alice girl'. Plus, she didn't like her coquettish voice.

"Don't be so rude," the girl giggled, still with her coquettishness.

Jacklyn glared at her then she opened her bag, taking a small paper and drawing something on it. "I don't have any problem with you. Can you leave us in peace now?" she said without looking at the girl, acting busy with her drawing.

The girl frowned. "Not only alice, you don't have a good manner too," she said, starting to get irritated.

Jacklyn finished her drawing and looked at her. "For your information, I have a good manner than you. I won't bug people having their lunch by insulting him or her by all of a sudden. And second, I wouldn't be here by now if I don't have any alice," she explained nonchalantly.

Mikan was awed at Jacklyn's suddenly change. 'She looks like Hotaru a bit,' she thought. While Ruka and Natsume thought, 'the second Hotaru Imai has appeared.' And Hotaru? She kept on eating her lunch without any care.

The girl pursed her lips. "You'll pay, you little devil. How dare you mess with Marika Houji. You'll regret it later," she said as she walked away.

Jacklyn sighed. 'Finally, the intruder has gone,' she thought as she looked back at Mikan who was staring at her now. Jacklyn wondered. "What's wrong, Mikan?" she inquired kindly as she smiled.

"Jacklyn-chan, do you have multi personalities?" Mikan asked, still with her awed expression.

Jacklyn shrugged her shoulders playfully. "Who knows? My personality is depending to the circumstances. I think I can express myself more at home," Jacklyn explained.

"So, can you explain what personalities that you have and where?" Mikan asked, curious.

"Actually, I don't really understand myself either. But I can say that I'm not a cheery girl like you, Mikan," Jacklyn smiled. "You have a fun personality."

Mikan blushed a little. "Thank you, Jacklyn-chan," she said sheepishly.

"She's annoying," Natsume muttered and Mikan noticed it.

"You're the only one who says that." Mikan was irritated.

"You never knew how many people think that you're annoying," he said, expressionless. Mikan glared at him.

"And they don't know that you're a pervert," Mikan retorted.

Jacklyn blinked. 'Pervert?' she wondered.

"You're the only one who says that," Natsume replied.

"Geez! If only the fan girls know, what will they think about you?" Mikan threatened.

"They won't care," Natsume said simply.

"I'm tired to always have a debate with you," Mikan rolled her eyes. "So, Jacklyn-chan, how do you act at school and home?" Mikan asked Jacklyn, who was a little drowning in the 'couple's' debate just now.

"Usually, I'll be a taciturn one and what you say, a kind one. And a polite one in front of the older people. But if they piss me off, I can't help but being cold or a rude one," Jacklyn explained as she recalled her attitude before she went to the Alice Academy. "And I'm just like a normal one at home. I'll express what I feel that time, but I'm not a taciturn one and not too kind," she added. 'Home…Are my parents worried about me now?" she thought sadly. 'Nah! They have Izu!' She slapped her cheeks hardly with her palms.

"Um, what's wrong, Jacklyn-chan?" Mikan asked her, surprised because Jacklyn suddenly slapped her own cheeks.

"Nothing." Jacklyn smiled as she rubbed her cheeks that have a red mark now. "By the way, who's that Marika Houji?" she asked back.

"I don't know," Mikan replied as she shrugged her tiny shoulders.

"The president of the second Natsume-Ruka fans club," Hotaru suddenly said.

Jacklyn looked at her. "There's another fans club?" she asked.

"Actually, there are many fans club of them in this Alice Academy. They have their own reasons and purposes," Mikan replaced Hotaru to explain.

Jacklyn looked at Ruka. Ruka noticed this and smiled at her. Jacklyn smiled back. 'If it's Ruka, I'm not wondering,' she thought. She glanced at Natsume. Natsume was reading his manga. 'But this cocky boy?' she thought in disbelief. 'Mikan said that sometimes he can be relied on too. But he never showed it to everyone, right? Are the girls drooling at him just because his looks?'

Jacklyn looked around the cafeteria and spotted Marika Houji and her gang at the corner. They were glaring at her and whispering something to the other fan girls. Jacklyn glared back.

'What's wrong with them?' she thought as she shifted her gaze back to Mikan. Mikan was arguing with Natsume about something, Hotaru was eating her crab dish and Luca was patting his rabbit on the head.

"Jacklyn-san?" a voice said behind her. Jacklyn turned to face the person and found a boy with brown hair who was unfamiliar to her. 'Maybe he's from another class,' she thought.

"Yes?" Jacklyn asked politely with a little smile on her face.

"I've been told by someone to call you because Narumi-sensei is searching for you," he said with a smile too.

"Oh, okay. Where can I meet him?" Jacklyn stood up.

"I don't know. Maybe you can meet him in the teacher's lounge," the boy said.

"Okay. Thank you for the announcement. I'll go there later," Jacklyn said and the boy smiled at her before he went back to his seat.

Jacklyn looked at her lunch-mates. "Sorry, I have to go now. Narumi-sensei is waiting," she said.

"Okay. See you later, Jacklyn-chan," Mikan smiled. Ruka and Hotaru just nodded at her. Natsume…didn't care.

Jacklyn hung her bag on her back and held her sketchbook in her arm. The small paper that she took before was inside her sketchbook.

"I'll see all of you later!" she said before she got out from the cafeteria.

After she went out from the cafeteria, she turned to the left and found a girl there. She wanted to ask her where the teacher's lounge was when the girl looked at her too.

"So you're Jacklyn? Narumi-sensei wants to meet you, but in the Northern Woods," the girl said. "Please follow me."

Jacklyn followed her without any suspicion.

They went out from the Junior High School building to an unfamiliar direction that Jacklyn didn't know. What she knew was they walked until they reached a place like a forest and went in there. Finally, they arrived at an open space in the forest. Jacklyn looked around but didn't find any glimpse of Narumi. The girl suddenly stopped.

"Um, where's Narumi-sensei?" Jacklyn asked politely.

"You think that gay teacher is really searching for you?" a coquettish voice said from the bushes.

A wavy-black haired girl appeared with her gang from the bushes. It was Marika Houji and the fan girls.

"I've told you that you'll regret it later," she said with a wicked smile.

--To be continued--

**Jacklyn: (Irritated) Stop following me.**

**illutia mist: (Clings to Jacklyn's left arm) Won't!**

**Jacklyn: (Sighs) What do you want?**

**illutia mist: (Smiles) A companion.**

**Jacklyn: Why don't you check out your reviews now so you can stop bugging me?**

**illutia mist: (Teary-eyes) I've checked it. They're sooooooooooooooo little!**

**Jacklyn: (Arch an eyebrow) What are you? A baby? At least there are reviews there.**

**illutia mist: I know. I'm just kidding. (Grins)**

**Jacklyn: (Murmurs) What a weird author.**

**illutia mist: (Pouts) I'm not weird. I'm just kidding.**

**Jacklyn: (Rolls her eyes) Whatever. **

**illutia mist: What's with that reply?**

**Jacklyn: You don't have anything to say to the readers? They have done reading this piece, you know.**

**illutia mist: (Big smile) Oh yeah! Thank you for reading, good readers!! Please review! I very appreciate it. And please take a read at my other stories too and review them, okay? Thank you so much!! I can write until this far because of all of you!! See you in the next piece!! **


	6. 6th Piece: Angel for a Day 1

**illutia mist: Okay!! Here we are!! New piece!**

**Jacklyn: (Rolls her eyes) What an annoying author.**

**Natsume: (Glances at Mikan) Yeah. She's like someone here.**

**Mikan: (Glares at Natsume) I don't like that glance.**

**illutia mist: (Hands are on hips) Nah. Don't protest! I'm the author.**

**Natsume: An extremely annoying freaky author.**

**Jacklyn: I agree.**

**illutia mist: (Cries waterfall) Jacklyn, since when you agree with him?**

**Mikan: It looks like she's starting to turn into second Natsume in the chit-chat room from piece to piece.**

**illutia mist: (Nods) Agree. Do you think I better hit their head again?**

**Mikan: Um, illutia, I don't think that's a good idea.**

**illutia mist: (Arches an eyebrow) And why is that?**

**Mikan: That's the reason. (Points to behind illutia)**

**illutia mist: (Turns her head) Wha-AAAAT?! (Shocked)**

**Natsume: (A fire appears on his palm) You said you want to hit me?**

**Jacklyn: (Lifts up her sketchbook) And you said you want to hit me too?**

**illutia: (Gulps) Ehehe…RUUUNNN!! (Runs away)**

**Natsume & Jacklyn: Halt there, you freaky author!! (Chases illutia)**

**Mikan: Why is this scene always repeating in the chit-chat room? (Sighs)**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**6th Piece: Angel for a Day - part 1**

"What is this about?" Jacklyn glanced at the wavy-black haired girl in front of her.

"I'll teach you a lesson if you're messing around with Marika Houji," Marika said as she flicked her fingers.

All the girls there made a circle around Jacklyn, preventing her from escaping. Jacklyn sneered at them. Marika twitched at her reaction.

"You're such a short-tempered girl, you know. I don't remember that I have any problem with you," Jacklyn said calmly.

Marika could feel a fire burning her from inside. "You know you have a big problem with me!" she said angrily.

Jacklyn raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" she asked, adding more fire into the black wave-haired girl's anger.

"First, you insulted me! Second, you're messing around with my Natsume, our Natsume!" Marika stated angrily.

"First, I didn't insult you. You're the one who insulted me. Second, I'm not messing around with that cocky boy. It's not that I like him either," Jacklyn corrected her statement, making her face redden because of the angriness.

"Don't call him 'cocky boy' all you want, non-alice girl! GIRLS!" Marika had lost her patience.

A girl pushed Jacklyn from behind, causing her to fall forward. But instead of meeting the ground, she was pushed again by another girl in front of her. And being pushed again, and again, and again until she got enough and charged herself to Marika.

Marika fell on the ground and so did she. Her sketchbook fell beside her. The small paper slipped out from her sketchbook. All girls stood in front of her. Some of them helped Marika to stand up.

Jacklyn sat up and grabbed her sketchbook. She saw a small paper falling from her sketchbook. She took it. It was her drawing when she was at the cafeteria. She held it in her right palm as she glared at the fan girls in front of her.

"Scared, are we?" Marika sneered as she stood in front of the fan girls.

"Why should I be scared?" Jacklyn said as she bent her eyebrows.

"You still have the nerve to fight against me?" Marika asked with her coquettish tone.

Jacklyn smirked. "No need to use that tone. It's no use to me. You just make me shiver here," she said, mocking the other.

Marika twitched her eyebrows, showing that she was angry. Jacklyn looked at her with an expressionless face. She looked at her drawing on the small paper, wondering she should use it or not.

'If I use it now, it will disappear tomorrow, at noon too. I can't attend classes with this. It'll be a big ruckus,' she thought hardly.

When she was aware, the girls had surrounded her once again. Marika showed her alice, the Ice alice. She made the ice barricade around them, preventing Jacklyn from escaping if she succeeded in breaking through the fan girls' barricade. The only way out was to fly.

"You're trapping yourself and your friends here?" Jacklyn asked stupidly.

"I'm trapping you, little devil," Marika smirked.

Jacklyn grinned slyly. "No, you're not," were the last words she said before she slammed the small paper in her hand to her chest.

And something appeared. Marika and the fan girls were wide-eyed. A pair of big white wings appeared on Jacklyn's back and she flew to the sky and disappeared, leaving the girls in their shock state.

"What the heck is she?" Marika said in her shocked state.

-x-

Jacklyn flew to the random direction, but the journey wasn't as smooth as before. She flew a little limply. She felt tired all of a sudden.

'I feel exhausted. Is it because the drawing that I made alive is too big?' she thought as she tried to keep her balance.

She couldn't stand it again and almost fell, but she quickly regained her balance.

'Darn! It's because of those fan girls!' she thought, irritated.

She kept on flying until she couldn't move her wings again. She clutched her sketchbook closely as she started to fall down.

'I hope I don't crash the ground…' was her last thought before she lost her consciousness.

-x-

"Onii-chan!" a little boy with gray hair searched for someone that we-all-know-who-that-was. He approached the Sakura tree. He looked around but found no one there, so he looked up because the person that he was searching for usually lay there on the branch.

And how surprised he was when he found someone lying on a branch of the Sakura tree.

No. It's not the person that he was searching for.

It was a girl, a black-haired girl. Her black hair covered her face. A group of white feather covered her body. It's a pair of white wings. There were a few Sakura petals on it. It looked like she fell from the sky. She lay there helplessly. She was unconscious.

The little boy was fascinated at the sight before him. "An angel…" he murmured.

He stood there and admired the lying angel for some time. He was afraid that she would be gone if he left her even for a minute.

But time kept on moving. The bell rang.

He felt a little annoyed. He must go back to attend his class. He looked at the angel for the last time and then ran to the Elementary School building. A smile crept onto his face.

-x-

After two hours of unconsciousness, Jacklyn finally woke up. She opened her eyelids and saw that she was lying on a tree branch. She looked up and found that it was a Sakura tree. She flapped her wings to change her lying position into the sitting position. She lay her back on the trunk and sighed.

'Fortunately, I didn't fall to the ground,' she thought in relief.

She looked at her white wings. 'Now, what should I do with this thing? I can't remove it,' she thought again, confused. Then a light bulb appeared on her head. 'I'll search for Narumi-sensei. Maybe he can help me to get the permissions for not attending the class from today until tomorrow noon.'

She flapped her wings and flew to get the gay teacher.

-x-

"Onii-chan! Onii-chan!" the little boy from previous scene called the crimson-eyed boy that was walking alone in the corridor. Natsume turned to his back and looked at the younger boy who ran approaching him.

"Youichi? What's wrong?" he asked as he patted the little boy's head.

"I have searched for you everywhere at lunchtime. Where have you been?" Youichi asked.

"I was at the cafeteria. Sorry, Youichi," Natsume said as he started to walk to his class. Youichi followed him.

"Onii-chan! When I searched for you at the Sakura tree, I found an angel!" Youichi said excitedly.

Natsume stopped and arched an eyebrow. He looked at his so-called little brother confusedly. "Angel?" he asked weirdly.

Youichi nodded. "I thought you're the one who lay on the branch. But it's an angel who lay there, not you," he said.

"Are you sure, Youichi? Maybe you're just dreaming," Natsume said as he started to walk again.

"I'm very sure, Onii-chan!" Youichi defended. "I have stared at her for a quite long time until the bell rang!"

"Her? A girl?" Natsume asked.

"Yes, Onii-chan!" Youichi nodded enthusiastically. "Let's go to the Sakura tree, Onii-chan! We see if she's still there!"

Natsume was silent as he stared at Youichi. After a few seconds, he nodded. Youichi smiled and they went to the Sakura tree.

-x-

Jacklyn flew from window to window carefully. It would be a ruckus if there's any student seeing this. She was trying to find the window that connected to the teacher's lounge.

"Not this…Not this…Not this one too…Not…" she mumbled as she peeked inside the windows.

She finally felt tired, so she landed for a while and hid behind the bushes.

'Geez! I still haven't recovered from the exhaustion. These wings are really draining my energy just to make it alive,' she thought as she sighed. 'I wonder if I slept for a long time yesterday because I used my alice too much too.'

She stood up and flew to a branch of a tree, not a Sakura tree. She was afraid if there's anybody finding her in the bushes, so she decided to rest on a branch.

"I'm tired…" she mumbled as she drifted to sleep again. She hoped inwardly that no one noticed her presence there.

-x-

Mikan was in biology class that was taught by Misaki. She was wondering why Jacklyn hadn't come back. She was also wondering why Natsume hadn't showed up in the class. She took a glance at the two empty seats. One was in front of her and the other one was beside her.

On the other side of the empty chair beside her, a blonde-haired boy was sitting there.

Mikan called him. "Ruka, do you know where Natsume is?" she whispered.

Ruka shook his head. Mikan sighed.

'Jacklyn-chan said that she would see us later at the lunchtime, but she hadn't come to the class,' she thought sadly. 'I wonder…'

Mikan glanced one more time at the seat beside her. 'Natsume too…What's wrong with him? Does he have a mission again?' she thought worriedly.

Mikan now knew about the missions that Natsume did. She ever saw him injured when he came back from his mission. He was injured badly that time. She shivered every time she remembered that time.

'Natsume…please be okay…' she thought worriedly.

-x-

"Come on, Onii-chan!!" Youichi ran excitedly.

Natsume got wondered at his junior's hyper behavior. 'He likes the angel, huh,' he thought as he smirked inwardly.

The two of them finally arrived at the Sakura tree, but Youichi was staring sadly at the now-empty branch on the tree. Natsume approached him.

"The angel has gone…" he muttered sadly.

Natsume looked up and found nothing on the branch. He then jumped to the branch to find any clue, proving if Youichi didn't have any daydream. He looked up and found a few of white feather stuck on the twigs. He took a feather from a twig and observed it.

'Soft…This is real…' he thought as he rubbed the white feather.

"What's wrong, Onii-chan?" Youichi shouted from under the branch.

Natsume jumped down. He showed the white feather to Youichi and the little boy took it.

"Wow!! This is a real feather! There's really an angel here before!" Youichi touched the feather as he smiled.

Natsume was silent. 'Is there really an angel for real?' he thought while staring at the branch.

"Too bad she has gone…" Youichi said sadly.

Natsume looked at him and patted his head. "At least, you have seen her," he cheered his junior up. Youichi looked at him and smiled. "Let's go back to the class," he said as he walked away. Youichi followed him from behind.

-x-

After two hours, Jacklyn woke up from her deep slumber and yawned.

'I better look up for Sensei again,' she thought as she started to fly.

She continued to search from window to window. Finally, she found the teacher's lounge, but no one was there.

Fortunately, there's a window that wasn't locked. She went in from there. She sat down on the couch, waiting for the gay teacher to appear from behind the door. But no one appeared from the door for a few minutes forward.

'Maybe they still have classes,' she thought silently.

She looked around the room. She had ever been there before, bit she was unconscious back then. The room was so big. It's white everywhere. In the middle, there's a huge chandelier hanging on the ceiling.

Her head was blank for a while before something struck her all of a sudden.

'What if there's someone besides the teachers coming in? I'll get busted!' she thought panicky.

She opened her sketchbook and drew a hairpin that had a pair of little wings on it. She drew a mask too. The mask had white color and had golden ornaments on the left and right side. The mask was designed to cover her face from the eyes until above of the nose. She touched the wings hairpin and clipped her long bangs up. Then she touched the mask and wore it. Now, no one would recognize her.

Then something popped up in her head. 'Why don't I leave a note to Sensei? Agh! I'm such a stupid one!' she thought.

She torn a paper from her notebook and started to write then she left the note on the random desk. After she was done, she flew out from the opened window.

Not long afterwards, Narumi came into the teacher's lounge. He spotted a note an on a desk. Being a naughty and curious one, he read the note.

_To Narumi-sensei_

_Sensei, I can't attend the classes from this noon until tomorrow noon._

_Big problem._

_Please get the permissions from the other teachers for me._

_Thank you for the attention._

_Jacklyn_

"Can't attend classes for 24 hours? Big problem?" Narumi wondered. "I'll better check her out later."

-x-

Jacklyn flew to the roof. She rested on the secluded place for a while and looked at the view.

'Wow! It surely is beautiful from here!' she thought, admiring the view. It was dominated by green color. There were a few buildings that looked so small from up there.

Jacklyn started to fly again. She intended to go back to her room, but she suddenly felt tired once again. She spotted the Sakura tree easily from up there and decided to rest on one of its branches.

'Maybe it's because I used my alice again. Plus, I'm flying,' she thought, sighing.

She looked around from the branch and remembered when she asked Natsume how he got there. She giggled to no one.

'Now, I'm the one who got here…with these wings,' she thought, a little happy.

She swung her feet happily while humming a song. The wind blew gently, bringing some Sakura petals with it. It's a very calm moment.

"Miss Angel?" a little boy's voice startled her. She looked down and found a little boy with gray-colored hair staring at her. "You came back!" he said happily.

Jacklyn, who was panicked because someone had seen her, decided to tag along with it.

"Who are you, little boy?" she asked kindly as she smiled.

"Hijiri. Youichi Hijiri," he smiled back at her.

"Have you seen me before?" she asked him, curious.

"Yes. I found you unconscious on that branch before. What happened?" he asked, concerned.

"Tired of flying. It's okay. I'm fine now," she answered, smiling.

"It's good then," Youichi muttered in relief. "I want to show you to Onii-chan, but you have gone back then."

"Sorry. I looked round at that building," Jacklyn said as she pointed the Junior High School building.

"Too bad. I'm in the Elementary School building," he said sadly.

Youichi then observed the 'angel' and he realized something.

"Are you a student in this school too? You wear the same uniform with Onii-chan," he said as he pointed at her uniform.

Jacklyn was panicked inwardly. 'Oh no! What should I say?' she thought in panic. "Umm, I'm in disguise!" the words blurted out just like that from her lips. 'Ha-ha,' she laughed sarcastically in her thought.

"Disguise? Cool!" Youichi was excited.

"By the way, who's your Onii-chan?" Jacklyn asked, changing the topic.

"Hyuuga. Natsume Hyuuga," Youichi replied as he smiled.

'So Natsume's surname is Hyuuga,' she thought. "He's the person that you repected the most. Is that right?" she guessed.

"Yes! How do you know?" Youichi asked curiously.

"I'm an angel," she said playfully.

"Yeah! Of course!" He laughed.

"What are you doing here? Has the class been over?" she asked the little boy.

"Yes. But I have to go back a few minutes again. Another class will get started," Youichi answered, a little disappointed.

The wind blew again, dropping a few of Sakura petals on them. Jacklyn smiled at the disappointed boy and said, "Look, Youichi! The Sakura petals are trying to cheer you up!"

Youichi looked up and saw the Sakura petals falling onto his head.

"Don't be sad. Come on! Cheer up!" Jacklyn cheered him up.

"Miss Angel, can I see you again later or tomorrow?" Youichi asked sadly.

'Is he sad because of that?' she thought. "I can promise you. Maybe yes, maybe not," Jacklyn said.

Youichi bent his head down. He felt a little sad that he couldn't meet the angel again. Jacklyn thought hardly. Guiltiness appeared in her heart.

"If you want to meet me again, come here before noon by tomorrow," she finally said.

Youichi lifted his head. A smile appeared on his face.

"I will! Thank you, Miss Angel!" he said cheerfully.

"Remember. Before noon. I have to go back before that," she reminded him. 'Actually, maybe these wings will be gone when it's noon,' she thought.

"I'll remember it! Before noon! When will you come here?" he asked, excited.

"Maybe around 8 am," she replied simply. She was happy to see him smiling again.

The bell rang. Youichi grunted.

"Don't be so upset, Youichi. I'll meet you here tomorrow," Jacklyn convinced him. Youichi smiled. "But please don't tell this to anyone. Plus, if there's anyone here, maybe I won't appear," she added.

Youichi was a little upset when he heard the last sentence because he knew that his so-called brother always came to that place. But then he came up with an idea. He just had to forbid the fire wielder from coming to the Sakura tree until noon. His face lit up.

"Okay. I understand. See you tomorrow, Miss Angel!!" Youichi said as he ran back to the Elementary School building.

After he disappeared from her sight, Jacklyn let out a sigh, a tired one.

'Tomorrow will be a tiring day,' she thought as she stood up and flew back to her room, wondering if tomorrow would be just fine.

--To be continued--

**Mikan: (Mutters as she taps her finger on her cheek) Now, where's that troublesome author?**

**illutia mist: (Crawls on the ground) He…here…**

**Mikan: (Wide-eyed) Oh my God! What happened to you?**

**illutia mist: (Sits up) To avoid them, I've been running around the world for several hours.**

**Mikan: Nah. You're kidding me. No way can you explore the world in just several hours.**

**illutia mist: (Sighs) Fine. I ran to a hill and jumped down to the sea of the tree.**

**Mikan: Again?!**

**illutia mist: (Arches an eyebrow) What do you mean with again?**

**Mikan: You ever did it in When I Met You chit-chat room, in case you forget.**

**illutia mist: I did?**

**Mikan: (Glares) Yeah. You left me behind back then. And now I feel like to hit you.**

**illutia mist: (Sweat drops) Uh oh, someone wants to get revenge here.**

**Mikan: Yeah. And it's me!! (Lifts a board)**

**illutia mist: No!! I've turned a cheery girl into a monster! RUUUNNN!! **

**After ran for a few meters, illutia stopped.**

**illutia mist: And please review, okay? Thanks for reading!! (Runs again)**

**Mikan: Stop there, you freaky author!!**


	7. 7th Piece: Angel for a Day 2

**illutia mist: (Covers head with hands) MIKAN! STOP THAT!**

**Mikan: (Emits an angriness aura around her) No.**

**Wonders what's happening? So, after illutia was chased by Mikan in the last Piece, now she was cornered in a valley. The poor freaky author, illutia mist, couldn't go anywhere again. **

**Iilutia mist: Mikan, don't lost yourself! Remember! You're kind, gentle and energetic!!**

**Mikan: (Glares) You're the one who has turned me into a monster.**

**illutia mist: (Surprised) Who is that behind you?**

**Mikan: (Throws a sharp glare) Not working for me.**

**illutia mist: But, there's really someone behind your back!!**

**And with that, Mikan turned her head to see what illutia saw. Five hundred meters from where she was standing that time, there were two shadows running to her direction. As she observed longer, she found out that those shadows were the fire caster, Natsume Hyuuga, and the sketchbook girl, Jacklyn.**

**Mikan: Looks like they finally found you.**

**But there was no reply. Mikan decided to turn her head back to the cornered freaky author just to find…**

**Mikan: WHERE THE HECK IS SHE?? (Veins pop on her head)**

**Jacklyn: (Pants as she approaches Mikan) Darn. It looks like she has escaped again.**

**Natsume: (Annoyed) Tch. That freaky author is really a nuisance. Just like her creation.**

**Jacklyn: (Glares at Natsume) My behavior has nothing to do with her.**

**Natsume: (Looks away) Whatever.**

**Mikan: Ok, stop it. There's nothing come out even though you two argue now.**

**Jacklyn: Agree. What we should do now?**

**Natsume: Find her. What else?**

**Mikan: Ok. (Smiles) So, good readers, while we're searching for that author, please enjoy this Piece.**

**Jacklyn: Hey. I thought I saw her there just now. (Points to a direction)**

**And with that, the trio ran to a direction, searching for the freaky author.**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**7th Piece: Angel for a Day-part 2**

Jacklyn woke up at 5 am. She couldn't sleep well.

How could?

The pair of white wings on her back made her feel uncomfortable. She couldn't move as she like. There's a right position so she could feel comfort when she slept. But then, when she moved a little, the wings would hurt her. She was really lack of sleep because of this.

She got up from her bed and opened her bag. The toothbrush, toothpaste, and the towel were still there. If her prediction was right, all of it should be gone when it was 7.30 am, the time when she created them.

She took all of it and went to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth first. When she looked at the mirror, she froze for a while at the sight before her.

'This is the first time I see an angel brushing her teeth. Not cool.' She giggled inwardly.

After she finished brushing her teeth and washing her face, she took a bath. After ten minutes, she went out from her bathroom and sat down on her bed, thinking about Mikan.

Yesterday, after the classes had been over, she heard Mikan knock on her door, asking if she was okay. She must make an excuse to prevent Mikan from entering her room. All of it was because of her so-called 'angel wings'. She hated herself for making her first friend worried about her that badly. Finally, Mikan gave up and went back to her own room.

She sighed after she remembered the event. She then recalled the time when Narumi visited her last night. Narumi knew about her alice, so she didn't have to be worried about the wings. Moreover, she needed someone to help her getting the permissions from the teachers for not attending the classes. She could see on the teacher's face, a shocked expression that appeared when he saw those wings on her back. She told him what happened 'in her version' and her prediction about her alice. The gay teacher said that she would be okay. He would take care of that permissions thing and an excuse for her friends.

She sighed again after the remembrance. 'Yesterday was very tiring. Today will be more tiring,' she thought.

She didn't have to think about her breakfast because Narumi had requested to take her breakfast to her room.

'I don't know if I hate these wings or not,' she thought again in submission.

She then heard a knock on her door. "Yes?" she asked, wondering who it was.

"Your breakfast, Jacklyn-san," a robotic voice said.

'Takahashi, the robot.' She walked to the door and opened it. She took the tray from the robot and smiled as she said, "Thank you."

The robot replied, "You're welcome." Then it went off to somewhere.

Jacklyn closed her door again and locked it for safety if there's anyone trying to bug her all of a sudden and finding out about those wings. She put the tray on her desk and started to eat her breakfast. She took a glance at the alarm clock that Narumi had given her yesterday. She didn't know the story behind that gift thing.

She kept on glancing at the alarm clock from time to time until she finished her breakfast. After that, she changed to her uniform.

She was ready to meet Youichi now.

The clock showed 7.30 am. It was still a little early. She checked the toothbrush, toothpaste, and the towel. They were gone.

"So, it's really last until twenty four hours," she mumbled.

She opened her sketchbook and made some drawings on it. After she was satisfied drawing, she glanced at the alarm clock again. It was 7.45 am.

She took her bag and sketchbook then went to the opened window. She wore the hairpin and mask that she had created yesterday. She flew out and closed the window then flew to the Sakura tree.

On the way, she could see a few students walking out from the dormitories and going to the school buildings. She must kept flying on a certain height so no one would realize her presence there. It would be a big ruckus if there's anyone seeing her with those wings.

Finally, she arrived at the Sakura tree. She made sure that no one was there first.

'Okay. No one's here,' she thought as she approached the Sakura tree and sat on the branch, waiting for Youichi.

-x-

"Onii-chan!" Youichi called a certain raven-haired boy who was on his way to his class with his best friend.

The raven-haired boy turned and looked at the little boy.

"What's wrong, Youichi?" he asked the little gray-haired boy.

Youichi approached him, panting heavily after he ran for sometime, searching for his so-called brother.

"Are you okay, Youichi?" the blonde-haired boy, which was the raven-haired boy's best friend, asked him, concerned.

Youichi nodded and said, "I'm fine, Ruka nii-chan!" Then he looked at the raven-haired boy. "Onii-chan, I have a favor," he said in a serious tone. "It's important."

The raven-haired boy raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" he asked him.

"Please don't come to the Sakura tree until noon," Youichi asked. "Can you do it?"

Ruka had a confused expression on his face. He looked at the raven-haired boy.

"What is it about, Natsume?" he asked the fire caster.

Natsume just shrugged and looked back to his little brother.

"Why?" he asked him, curious.

"Just don't come. Please," Youichi pleaded.

Natsume stared at him. He obviously couldn't deny his junior's request.

"Okay. Don't come to the Sakura tree until noon, right? I think I can do that," he finally said.

Youichi smiled. He felt relieved and happy that his 'Onii-chan' granted his wish.

"Thank you, Onii-chan! I owe you one!" Youichi said happily and turned to his back. He was about to run again when he remembered something. He looked back at Natsume. "Onii-chan, please prevent anyone to come to the Sakura tree if you see they happen to go there. Just until noon!" he told him. Natsume just nodded. "Thank you very much, Onii-chan!" he said before he turned and ran again.

Natsume and Ruka stood there, watching the little boy's figure disappear at the corner.

"What's wrong with him?" Ruka asked curiously.

"He said it's important," Natsume said nonchalantly.

"Aren't you wondering, Natsume?" Ruka asked his best friend.

"Hn." With that, the raven-haired boy turned away and continued walking to the class. Ruka followed him.

And as usual, someone familiar bumped into him at the corner.

"Ow, sorry…" the brunette said and looked up. "…Natsume," she added.

"Watch out when you're running, Polka," Natsume teased her.

"It's not that I like to bump into you everyday!" Mikan snapped as she stood up and dusted her skirt.

Then Natsume realized that Mikan bumped into him today. One person was missing.

"Looks like you didn't come with that sketchbook girl today," Natsume said.

Mikan looked at him sadly. He raised an eyebrow, wondering what those look meant.

"Jacklyn-chan is sick. I have visited her yesterday, but she didn't let me in. She's afraid that I'll get sick too if I go near her," she muttered sadly.

"She's sick since yesterday?" Natsume asked.

"Umm, after the lunchtime, she didn't come back to the class. It has been hours until Narumi-sensei went into the class and got the permission for her," Mikan explained. "Talking about it, you didn't come to class too yesterday. Were you on a mission?" she asked, worried.

"No," the fire caster answered simply as he walked to the class.

Mikan followed him. "You're not on a mission? Then why didn't you come to the class?" she asked again, curious.

"None of your business, Peach," he said without looking at her.

"Wha-NATSUME!!" the brunette yelled at him while blushing furiously. Natsume kept on walking to the class with his best friend who sweat dropped at the scene.

-x-

"Miss Angel!" A little boy called. Jacklyn looked at the direction where the voice was heard. She saw Youichi running to her direction.

"Good morning, Youichi!" she shouted as she waved her right hand to him. Youichi smiled as he approached the 'angel'. "You're early, Youichi. Do you skip the class?" Jacklyn asked.

"Hehe," was all his reply as he smiled widely.

"I'm so sorry, Youichi. I forgot that you have a class too…" She felt guilty.

Youichi shook his head. "It's okay, Miss Angel. I want to see you more than attending the class," he said.

"But you don't have to skip your class. You can meet me at the break time," she excused.

"But you said, if I want to meet you again, I must come here today before noon," Youichi was a little upset. "You said you have to go back before noon. And I want to spend this precious time with you. Because…I don't know when I can see you again…"

Jacklyn felt guiltier. "Okay…but don't skip the class another time, okay?" she tried to cheer him up.

Youichi looked up and smiled. "I won't promise, but I'll try to attend the classes," he said happily.

"Is there any reason why you don't attend some classes?" she asked as curiosity engulfed her. Youichi nodded. Jacklyn tilted her head a little.

"First, the teacher leaves the class, so we can go anywhere we want," he explained.

Jacklyn chuckled at his answer. "I know about that one." she smiled. "So, if that's the first, what's the second?"

"I don't like the subject or the teacher," he stated.

"Then, how do you know what you will learn?" she asked again.

"I'll ask my classmate later," Youichi replied simply.

"Well, at least you still ask your classmate," she said. "Okay. I won't complain again. Now, what will we do?"

"Talking," he said as he sat down on the grass.

"Okay," Jacklyn just smiled.

-x-

"So, today absentee is Jacklyn-chan only," Narumi said before starting his class. Mikan raised her hand. "Yes, Mikan-chan?" he asked kindly.

"Is she okay? She didn't let me enter her room yesterday. She said that she'll be fine," she asked in a worried tone.

Narumi smiled. "I bet she'll be okay. Don't worry, Mikan-chan. She has said that she'll be fine," he convinced his dear student.

Narumi looked at Koko, who had a shocked expression on his face. Narumi threw him a 'don't-tell-anyone-about-her' look. He smiled but emitted a very dangerous aura around him. Koko gulped and nodded a little, showing that he understood.

"Okay, class, let's start the lesson," Narumi said then he started his lesson.

Mikan sighed and opened her book. She wasn't too sure about what the gay teacher had told her. She was still worried about her new friend.

A certain raven-haired boy, who sat beside her, glanced at her from his manga that covered almost all of his face.

'Why does she very care about that sketchbook girl anyway?' he thought irritatingly.

Mikan looked at the window then she blinked when she spotted something, or rather, someone.

"Natsume, Natsume," she whispered as she tugged her raven-haired seatmate's sleeve, still staring at the window.

"What?" Natsume asked, annoyed.

"There's someone under the Sakura tree. Isn't that Youichi?" she whispered as she pointed the Sakura tree that could be seen from their class.

Natsume lifted his manga from his face and put down his feet which were on the desk before. He looked at the direction that was pointed by Mikan.

'Gray hair…a kid…Youichi…?' he thought as he observed the person. 'Youichi did tell me not to come to the Sakura tree until noon.'

"It looks like he's talking to someone at the Sakura tree too," Mikan whispered, telling him what she saw, which she didn't have too because Natsume also saw it.

Youichi was looking up at the tree and talking. There's absolutely someone on the Sakura tree, but the person was hidden by the trunk of the Sakura tree.

Natsume observed in silence. 'There's someone at the Sakura tree, huh. I wonder if that's the reason why he forbade me to come to the Sakura tree until noon,' he thought as he smirked inwardly.

"I wonder who that is. Do you have any clue, Natsume?" the brunette asked excitedly as she looked at the raven-haired boy.

Natsume stared back at her. Mikan stared at him straight in the eyes, smiling widely. He turned his face away, hiding the pink tinge that appeared on his cheeks when the brunette locked her eyes with his.

"Natsume? What's wrong?" she asked, wondering why the crimson-eyed boy suddenly turned his face away.

"Shut up, Polka," he said as he went back to his earlier position and covered his face with his manga again.

Mikan twitched at the nickname. "Pervert." She stuck out her tongue at him.

When she focused back to the lesson, she smelled something burning. She searched for the source and found out that the burnt thing was…

"MY HAIR!! NATSUMEEE!!" she yelled loud enough to make a big quake at the Junior High School building.

-x-

Youichi showed a sad face all of a sudden. Jacklyn looked at him in wonder.

"What's wrong, Youichi?" she asked as she smiled.

"You have to go in a few minutes again…" he muttered sadly.

"Well, I can't do anything about it," the 'angel' said, a little sad. 'Except I reveal my true identity,' she added in her thought.

"Can you come again?" he asked. His eyes were filled with hope.

"I don't know. I'm not the one who decides it," she replied. 'I can, but I can't attend classes for a day!' she exclaimed in her thought.

"Too bad…" He bent his head down. "I haven't introduced you to Onii-chan."

'Heh! I have met that cocky boy, Youichi,' she grinned inwardly. "Maybe next time. If we're lucky, we'll meet again," she cheered up the sad little boy. Youichi smiled weakly at her. "Hey! Don't give me that smile when we're going to say goodbye! Give me a happy one!" Jacklyn said as she smiled sweetly at him. Youichi stared at her for a while then gave her his best smile. "That's a good one," she praised him.

"Miss Angel…" he called as he played with his fingers.

"Hm? What is it?" Jacklyn was curious.

"Can I…hug you for the first and the last time?" he asked as he blushed slightly.

Jacklyn smiled. She flapped her white wings and landed gracefully. She took a step forward and hugged the little boy gently. It's a quite long hug.

-x-

Mikan glanced at the clock. 'Ten minutes again! Yay! Lunchtime!' she chirped happily in her thought. She gazed her eyes to the Sakura tree. As she looked at the sight, her mouth opened a little and her eyes widened. "A…angel…" she said a little loudly.

All students' eyes were fixed on her.

Yes. All! Even Hotaru and Natsume!

Well, Hotaru was thinking about what her best friend's silly thought now.

"There's an angel there!" she said loudly as she pointed to the Sakura tree.

The students immediately approached the window, wondering at the brunette's words. All of them had the same reaction when they saw what she meant. A pair of white wings covered the figure, but not the skirt and legs. From the skirt, they know that it's a girl. She was hugging someone.

Mikan and Natsume knew who was being hugged by the mysterious 'angel'. They had observed the little figure for a quite long time, especially Mikan who got bored during the class.

"Natsume, the angel is hugging You-chan!" Mikan whispered to the crimson-eyed boy. "So, Youichi was talking to an angel the whole time."

Natsume stared at the two figures under the Sakura tree. 'So he finally met with the angel,' he smirked inwardly.

The class made an 'oh' and 'ah' sound. Shortly, it's noisy in there. Narumi couldn't do anything about it.

'Jacklyn-chan, you have fulfilled your promise. But they catch you in the act,' Narumi thought as he smiled, watching the two figures too.

Koko walked to him. "Sensei, is that really her?" he whispered, amazed by the angel figure under the tree. "She has made a big ruckus now even though she doesn't show herself in this class." Narumi just smiled at him.

-x-

Jacklyn could feel Youichi clutching her shirt tightly. She couldn't break the hug just like that. But finally, Youichi was the one who broke the hug. Jacklyn smiled at him. He smiled back.

"Thank you, Miss Angel," Youichi said, still smiling. Jacklyn nodded. Youichi took something out from his pocket. It was a feather with pure white color, the same color with her wings. "I still have this for memento," he added as he showed the feather to her.

Jacklyn fell silent. 'The feather will disappear too. He'll be upset,' she thought sadly.

Then an idea popped in her head.

She flapped her wings and sat back on the branch. Youichi looked at her confusedly. Jacklyn opened her sketchbook and drew something. She touched it and it became alive. Youichi couldn't see what she was doing because he was under the tree. Finally, Jacklyn looked at him.

"That feather will disappear after I gone," she said sadly. Youichi felt upset now. "But don't worry," she smiled, "I'll give you the new one."

She dropped the white feather that she just made. Youichi held out his hands and the white feather landed softly on it. Youichi looked at Jacklyn.

"That feather can last for 24 hours," she said. "Maybe I can't see you, but I'll drop a new feather everyday at lunchtime under this Sakura tree."

"So, I'll always have a memento about you?" he asked. A smile appeared on his face. Jacklyn nodded and his smile widened.

The bell rang. Youichi groaned in irritation.

"Lunchtime! That means I have to go!" Jacklyn said with a smile. "You too! You have to eat lunch because you're still growing up!"

Youichi smiled and nodded. "Thank you for talking with me," he said. "Goodbye…Miss Angel…"

"You're welcome," she replied as she flapped her wings and flew high to the sky, hoping the sunlight could cover her figure.

"Bye-bye…" Youichi muttered then he turned away and ran to his 'Onii-chan'.

-x-

"Anna! Did you see it?" Nonoko asked enthusiastically.

"Yes, Nonoko! I saw it! You saw it too?" Anna asked back.

"Yes! I saw it!" Nonoko nodded.

"The angel!!" both of them squealed happily.

"You two are attracting the attention," Hotaru said with her stoic face.

They were now at the cafeteria. Koko, Yuu, Anna, Nonoko, Hotaru, Mikan, Natsume and Ruka sat on the same table. Anna and Nonoko were discussing about the 'angel' they just saw. Mikan stared at them. The rest were having their lunch.

'Good for her, they didn't know that she's the angel,' Koko thought, sweat dropping at Anna's and Nonoko's reaction. He had read Narumi's mind so he knew about the 'angel' thing. That was why Narumi glared at him before, threatening him to not leaking anything about her. 'Her' meant Jacklyn.

"Onii-chan!" a certain little gray-haired boy entered the cafeteria and ran to the fire caster.

Natsume looked at the direction of the voice. "Youichi," he muttered.

"Onii-chan! I have met with the angel!" Youichi whispered to him.

"That's good then." Natsume patted his little brother's head. "Is that the reason why you forbade me to go there?"

Youichi nodded. "I'm sorry, Onii-chan. I've promised not to tell anyone that we would meet there," he said, feeling a little guilty.

"It's okay, Youichi," the raven-haired boy cheered him up.

TAP! TAP! TAP! TAP!

A sound of running footsteps could be heard before a girl finally ran into the cafeteria. Mikan looked at the entrance door as soon as the girl entered.

"Jacklyn-chan!" she called her. The happiness was evident on her face.

Jacklyn approached the brunette. "I'm sorry, Mikan. I have made you worried, haven't I?" She felt guilty as she remembered yesterday's incident.

"But you said that you'll be fine! And now you're here!" Mikan said happily. Jacklyn just smiled.

Jacklyn then realized a familiar person was staring at her. She looked at Youichi. Youichi wouldn't recognize her. She's not wearing her hairpin and mask anymore. Her hairstyle was different without the hairpin clipping her long bangs up. But she recognized Youichi.

"Hello," she greeted him, smiling. Youichi stared at her a little longer then looked away without saying anything. 'It looks like he doesn't recognize me as the angel. Lucky,' she thought, inwardly sighing in relief.

"Too bad you came just now," Nonoko said.

"A few minutes before the lunchtime, we saw an angel!" Anna chirped.

Jacklyn was wide-eyed. "An-an angel?!" She was shocked. 'They saw me?! Oh no! I was caught in the act!' she shouted in her thought. She glanced at Koko hesitantly. Koko just smiled as he waved his hand. It meant, he didn't tell them anything and they didn't know that the angel was her. Jacklyn sighed and smiled at him, giving him a 'thanks' look.

Then a girl ran into the cafeteria.

"SHE'S NOT A HUMAN!!" she shouted as she pointed her index finger at Jacklyn.

--To be continued--

**Jacklyn: Have any of you found her yet?**

**Mikan: (Shskes her head) Nope.**

**Natsume: (Irritated) Tch. That freaky author.**

**Mikan: I'm getting tired of this.**

**Jacklyn: Are you okay?**

**Mikan: I'm still fine.**

**Natsume: (Raises an eyebrow) But you say you're getting tired just now.**

**Mikan: (Twitches her eyebrows) I'm fine for now, but I have felt tired a little. Happy?**

**Natsume: No. You're not consistent with what you said.**

**Mikan: (Annoyed) Geez. What's with that attitude? It's really not nice.**

**Natsume: (Rolls his eyes) Whatever, Polka.**

**Mikan: (A vein pops on her head) PERVERT!!**

**Natsume: (Smirks) Ops, sorry. It's cherry today, isn't it?**

**Mikan: (Blushes furiously) YOU!! MANIAC PERVEEEERRRRTTTT!!**

**And the two of them kept retorting at each other.**

**Jacklyn: (Watches in boredom and sighs) It looks like they have forgotten our first purpose. Oh well. Thank you for reading this Piece and please review. This should be that freaky author job, but she ran away. We'll make sure we have caught her in the next Piece. See you later.**


	8. 8th Piece: More Friends

**Someone: THIS IS HEAVEN!!**

**Oh well. Good readers, if you're wondering who just shouted like that is and maybe you've guessed it right, then you must have known who she is. Yes, I repeat it again. SHE!**

**Hotaru: An idiot who's writing this story.**

**PING PONG! A hundred for you, Hotaru!**

**Hotaru: (Raises an eyebrow) A hundred? I don't mind as long as it's counted in rabbits.**

**What? You're really a money-lover! Can't you throw aside that habit of yours even though it's just in this chit-chat room?**

**Hotaru: Can't, for the freaky author knows that she doesn't own Gakuen Alice and its characters, which means she couldn't change my habit even though this is her fic.**

**Geez! This freaky author should have learned more what it meant by making a fanfic. She could make the characters OOC if she wants!**

**Hotaru: I'll haunt you if you dare to tell her that. (Prepares Baka Gun)**

**No. No. You can't hit me. I'm invisible! HAHAHA!**

**Hotaru: (Growls) Darn. That freaky author shouldn't have created you. And why are you here? As long as I know, you just appear in When I Met You, stupid narrator.**

**Hey, you're right. Why am I here? **

**Hotaru: (Rolls her eyes) Told you.**

**Oh well, I should get back to When I Met You before they miss me.**

**Hotaru: They won't.**

**I heard that!!**

**Hotaru: Who cares? Where's that freaky author anyway? There's no sign of her after she shouted a while ago.**

**illutia mist: (Appears from bushes) Yeah! I'm here!**

**Hotaru: Why are you hiding?**

**illutia mist: No need to know. By the way, have that stupid narrator gone?**

**Hotaru: Just now. How could that thing appear in this fic?**

**illutia mist: (Shrugs) How do I know? What I know that…I HAVE FINISHED THE 8th PIECE!! HAHAHA!!**

**Hotaru: (Sighs) Many idiots here and there.**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**8th Piece: More Friends**

All people at the cafeteria were silent a thousand words. They looked at the girl who just barked into the cafeteria and pointed her finger at Jacklyn, saying that she's not a human. Anna, Nonoko and Yuu were wide-eyed, Mikan was wide-eyed and her mouth opened a little in shock, Ruka was confused, Koko shook her head, Natsume remained expressionless, Youichi was a little surprised, and Hotaru…kept on eating her lunch as she looked at the girl and Jacklyn.

Jacklyn arched an eyebrow at the girl. "I'm not a human?" she asked confusedly.

"Yes! I saw it with my own eyes yesterday!" the girl stated.

Jacklyn looked at Mikan confusedly. The brunette just shrugged in lack of knowledge expression. Jacklyn then shifted her gaze to Koko, who returned her stare with a smile on his face then stood up. He approached the confused girl.

"She's one of the fan girls that surrounded you yesterday," he whispered in a low voice so that only Jacklyn could hear it.

Jacklyn looked at him with an 'oh' look then she looked back at the other. She took a step forward. The girl was startled a little at her action.

"What do you mean by yesterday? I met with Narumi-sensei yesterday," Jacklyn said calmly. She used the excuse that was used by the fan girls to bring her to the forest. As one of the fan girls, of course she remembered about that. She thought of something to retort back at the black-haired girl.

"After you met with him! Yes! After that! I saw it!" the girl finally said.

"What did you see anyway? I don't remember that I did anything wrong," Jacklyn bent her eyebrows and sent a 'see-if-you-dare-to-tell-the-other' glare.

But the girl ignored the glare. "I saw something unbelievable yesterday!" she threatened, still not wanting to spoil what it was, waiting for Jacklyn to beg her not to tell anyone.

'Darn!' Jacklyn started to feel annoyed. She went to her. And once she was close enough to her, she moved her lips near the other's ear. "Say anything about it and you'll pay," she whispered with a cold voice as the other trembled slightly at her tone. "Besides, I can tell them what really happened yesterday. You should be glad that I followed your excuse to corner me at that time."

From the others' sights, Jacklyn looked like she was kissing the girl's cheek at that time. All of them were shocked, except for Natsume, Hotaru, and Koko who had read Jacklyn's mind.

"Understand?" she whispered, emphasizing the word. The girl nodded in fear. "Good," she said in a low voice as she pulled back. "So, what's that unbelievable thing?" Jacklyn asked kindly.

"No…nothing…" the girl said as she turned away and ran out from the cafeteria.

Jacklyn pretended to be confused. "What's wrong with her?" she asked with an innocent face.

In a few seconds, some murmurs could be heard inside the cafeteria. It looked like they were talking about the incident that happened just now.

Jacklyn glanced around. 'What are they murmuring about?' she thought. Now she was confused for real.

Koko moved to her. "They think you're lesbian," he said, making her wide-eyed.

"Wh-WHAT?!" she was shocked.

"They think you kissed the girl on the cheek just now," he explained, explaining the part that made the people thought she was lesbian.

"No way!" she denied, a little loud. Her face flushed a little, embarrassed.

"And some of them think that you have a pheromone alice," he added.

Jacklyn covered her face with her left palm. 'How did all turn like this? And why did they think I have a pheromone alice?' she thought, regretting her action to the girl just now.

"Because the pheromone alice can attract the other living things. They'll do what you want or command," Koko explained calmly. "It's Narumi-sensei's alice. He has the human pheromone alice, which make him can attract another people."

"So that's why…" Jacklyn murmured, thinking of what she should do now. 'At least they have forgotten the time when the girl said that I'm not human.'

"Umm, there are some of them thinking that the unbelievable thing that happened yesterday has a connection with your pheromone alice and your 'lesbian' behavior," Koko added again, sweat dropping.

"I'M NOT A LESBIAN!" Jacklyn shouted desperately.

"Most of them don't believe it," the mind reader kept on saying out the audiences' minds.

"Oh, please stop, Koko! I get a headache now!" She walked to the gang's table in annoyance.

"Jacklyn-chan, did you really kiss her cheek?" Mikan asked, still in her shocked state.

"No! I don't!" Jacklyn stated as she slumped down on the empty seat beside the brunette.

"So, your alice is a pheromone alice?" Anna and Nonoko asked in unison.

Jacklyn sweat dropped. 'What should I say?' she thought in panic.

"Lesbian," Natsume muttered, earning him a glare from Jacklyn.

"What did you do to my member?" a familiar coquettish voice suddenly asked.

Jacklyn looked at the voice's direction, knowing who the owner of the voice was. 'It's her again.' She sighed. "What do you want now?" she asked with an expressionless face.

"You're acting too much, non-alice girl," Marika said.

"I've told you. If I don't have any alice, how did I enroll in this school in the first place?" Jacklyn said without looking at her. "By the way, you and your members are the one who act too much."

"You force me to tell the incident that happened yesterday?" Marika sneered.

"And you force me to tell your lies?" Jacklyn retorted with a smirk.

Marika glared at Jacklyn who glared back at her. The glaring contest between them began.

"So, she's the culprit of the incident that happened yesterday?" Koko suddenly blurted out.

Jacklyn glanced at him. He quickly covered his mouth after he realized he just said out something that was supposed to be a secret. He gave the girl a 'sorry' look.

But it was too late. The gang had heard what Koko just said. They looked at Jacklyn who now glared back at Marika.

"Jacklyn-chan, what happened yesterday? Were you sick because of that?" Mikan was the first one to speak as she looked at the black-haired girl worriedly.

Jacklyn smiled at the brunette. "Don't worry, Mikan. It's not like what you think," she convinced her.

"But, Jacklyn-chan…" Mikan tried to say something but was cut off by Marika.

"So, they didn't know, huh?" the owner of the coquettish voice smiled as she looked at the gang, especially Natsume and Ruka.

"So, you're lying," Natsume said as he looked at Jacklyn.

"I'm not lying. I didn't come to class yesterday because I was sick," she stated as she looked at him straight in the eyes. 'Yeah. I'm mentally sick because of those wings,' she thought in boredom.

"Yeah, she's not lying, Natsume," Koko said, helping her to convince the crimson-eyed boy. 'At least, mental sickness is also counted in one kind of sick,' he thought as he giggled inwardly.

"So, what's with the culprit of the incident that happened yesterday?" Hotaru finally talked.

Jacklyn moved her gaze to the inventor. "Some business with this…"

"Hag," Youichi cut off her words.

"Yeah. Hag," she agreed.

SLAP!

With that, everyone in the cafeteria focused their attentions to the gang's table once again.

Marika just slapped Jacklyn on her left cheek. Marika's eyes showed hatred and anger towards the girl in front of her. Jacklyn was wide-eyed for a moment, and then she glared at the wavy-black haired girl who just made a red mark on her white soft skin.

"You're very polite, huh," Jacklyn mocked. "First, you disturbed my precious lunchtime. And now, you slapped me. What a good attitude you have there."

Yuu, Anna, Nonoko, Koko, Ruka, and Mikan looked at her, still in shock because Marika suddenly slapped her but she still could mock her.

In that tense situation, the bell suddenly rang. It meant they have to attend another class again.

"You better go back to your class," Jacklyn said with a stoic face as she stood up. "You should be glad that I didn't tell anyone about the incident, even Narumi-sensei," she added in a low voice so it just could be heard by Marika.

Yes. She didn't tell Narumi about the fan girls' attack. She just said that she accidentally made the wings drawing alive. This was what she meant when she said that she told Narumi what had happened in 'her version'.

She glanced at Koko and he nodded, understanding that she wanted him to not telling this to anyone.

"I'll go to the class. Do any of you want to come?" Jacklyn smiled, ignoring the petrified Marika.

All of them stood up and went out from the cafeteria along with the rest of the students. Mikan glanced at Jacklyn as she walked with the gang. Jacklyn kept silent after her last sentence.

'I never have been slapped by anyone. Not even my parents or Izu,' she thought, spacing out.

"Jacklyn-chan, does it hurt?" Mikan asked suddenly, bringing the spaced-out girl out of her thought.

"Oh, this?" Jacklyn asked back as she held her red cheek. "I don't really feel it. I'm just a little shocked." She smiled at the brunette.

"So, what happened yesterday?" Hotaru asked, remembering her question hadn't been answered.

"Fan girls," Jacklyn murmured, irritated.

"Now you know how annoying they are," Natsume said nonchalantly.

Jacklyn threw a murderous glare at the crimson-eyed boy that walked a meter beside her. "It's because of you, cocky boy," she blamed him.

"Don't blame me for the fan girls' action. I don't get involve in it," he stated.

"Yeah, you're right. What will they do to me after this?" Jacklyn was still irritated.

"I think Houji-san is worse than Permy," Mikan said, a little worried.

"Great. Whatever. The war has been started anyway," Jacklyn said in submission.

"By the way, what's your alice? You haven't told us," Mikan asked, remembering the other day when Jacklyn's sentence was cut off by Marika.

Jacklyn raised an eyebrow at this. "Is it that important?" she asked, trying to avoid the question.

"After this, our class is depending on our alice," Yuu said. "There are five types of alice. The first is the Latent type, which most common powers are in this class. Second is Technology type. Those who can create experiments are in this class. Third is Active type. This class is for those whose alice isn't forced with inventions or practice, unlike the other classes. The next is Special Ability type. This class is for those whose alice doesn't fit in the other class. And the last one is Dangerous Ability type, which consist of those whose alice is considered as the dangerous one."

"Wow. It's so complex, huh," Jacklyn commented, fascinated at the explanation. "So what class that all of you attend?" she asked the gang.

"I'm in Special Ability type. Yuu and Koko are in Latent. Anna, Nonoko and Hotaru are in Technology. Ruka's in Active," Mikan described.

"Natsume?" Jacklyn asked again as she pointed to the crimson-eyed boy who glared at her.

"He's in Dangerous Ability class with You-chan," Mikan replied.

"You…chan?" Jacklyn was confused.

"Oh yeah, you haven't known him," Mikan said as she stuck out her tongue playfully. "This little boy's name is Youichi Hijiri. I call him You-chan though," she pointed at Youichi.

Jacklyn looked at him, but Youichi looked away. 'So Mikan calls him You-chan. He's kind to Miss Angel but not to me,' she thought as she smiled.

"Haha, I wonder too," Koko blurted out suddenly.

"What's wrong, Koko?" Anna asked, confused at his sudden reaction.

"No. Nothing. It's something about Miss Angel," he smiled.

Youichi snapped his head at the mind reader in annoyance. "You read my mind," he accused him. The mind reader just sweat dropped.

"No, I'm not," Koko denied, but a spirit suddenly appeared and chased him.

He had disappeared from their sight now, running to he-knew-where.

"Youichi's alice is controlling spirit. Be careful not to make him mad," the brunette whispered to Jacklyn.

"Oh…" Jacklyn stared at the little gray-haired boy. 'I bet Koko read my mind, not him,' she thought as a smile appeared on her face once again.

"So, what's your alice?" Mikan suddenly remembered her question that hadn't been answered.

Jacklyn smiled as she turned to face the brunette. "My alice is that present," she answered, making the brunette more curious.

"Okay…But what is it?" she asked her eagerly.

"You're in the special ability class, Jacklyn-chan," a familiar voice said.

"Narumi-sensei!" Mikan smiled at the gay teacher that was approaching them.

"Why don't you take her to the class, Mikan-chan?" Narumi smiled at the cheery brunette.

"Okay! I'll do it, Narumi-sensei!" Mikan gave him a bright face. "Come on, Jacklyn-chan!" She took Jacklyn's hand and ran off.

After they vanished from their sight, Natsume glanced at Narumi. "You know that sketchbook girl's alice, right?" he asked him in an arrogant way.

Narumi just returned his cockiness with a smile. "Maybe," he replied mysteriously, gaining a glare from the now-annoyed raven-haired boy.

"WAAHH!! Natsume-kun! You're mean!!" the gay teacher said as he tried to extinguish the fire that suddenly appeared on his right sleeve.

"Tch." The suspect walked away with Youichi, leaving the rest of the gang and the gay teacher behind.

After he left, Hotaru took out her Baka Gun and shot Narumi to the ground then she walked away.

-x-

"So, this is our new junior," a black-haired boy with a star mark on his left cheek said with a smile.

"She's cute like you, Mikan-chan," a girl with red hair commented.

"This is Tsubasa-sempai," Mikan introduced the boy with the star mark on his cheek to Jacklyn. "And this is Misaki-sempai," she said as she pointed at the red-haired girl.

"I'm Jacklyn. Nice to meet you," Jacklyn said as she bowed her head a little.

"Jacklyn-chan, what's your alice?" Misaki asked kindly.

"Oh yeah! You haven't told me!" Mikan poked her left palm lightly with her right hand that was formed into a fist.

"Um, I'll tell you but don't tell anyone, okay?" Jacklyn asked hesitantly.

"Why?" Mikan and Misaki asked in unison. Tsubasa just raised an eyebrow.

"I have my own reason." Jacklyn smiled. "Just don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Okay," the two girls agreed.

Jacklyn sat down and took out her pencil-colored box from her bag. Then she opened her sketchbook and started to draw. Misaki and Mikan looked at her confusedly.

Jacklyn then looked at the two excited girls after she finished her drawing. "I'll start," she said. The two nodded.

Jacklyn brought her hand onto her drawing, which was a butterfly. The same one with her present for Natsume and Mikan at the first day she met them. She touched it gently and the butterfly came to alive and flew around them.

"Cool! Is that how you made those butterflies that time?" Mikan said, excited at what just happened.

Jacklyn nodded at her question.

"So, what is it called?" Misaki asked as her eyes followed the butterfly's movement.

"Narumi-sensei said it's the drawing alice," Jacklyn replied plainly.

"So, this is the drawing alice. It looked like a rare one," Tsubasa commented. "No wonder that you're in the Special Ability class. It's a special one."

"But it's just last for twenty four hours," the black-haired girl said modestly.

"No alice that can last for a long time. Twenty four hours is good enough," Misaki said, cheering her up.

"It's good that your alice isn't a dangerous one," Tsubasa said. "Your alice will be used for the academy's purpose."

"Yeah. There are some gossips that they'll ask you to kill people or something, but I'm not quite sure about that," Misaki added.

"Like Natsume…" the brunette suddenly said. Sadness could be seen on her face.

Jacklyn stared at her. "What's with him?" she asked, curious.

"He's told to do some missions. I don't know what the missions are, but sometimes he comes back in bad condition," Mikan explained. Her eyes showed her sadness and worry when she said that.

"When did you know about that?" Jacklyn asked.

"Three years ago," Mikan reminisced. "One night, I found him injured badly when I was on my way back from Hotaru's room. I insisted him to tell me what had happened. He just said that he was from a mission. No any details about it."

'That cocky boy never talked too much. Why does he like to be alone anyway?' Jacklyn thought.

"Moreover, his alice is eating his lifespan every time he uses it. His alice is the unlimited type, you know," Mikan added.

'His alice is eating his lifespan? Doesn't he hate his alice?' the black-haired girl thought again, wondering.

"It looks like Nodachi can't teach us again," Misaki changed the gloomy topic.

"Nodachi?" Jacklyn was wondering who that was.

"The Special Ability class' teacher. Our teacher," Tsubasa explained to her. "He can travel through the time. It's his alice. But he hardly can control it."

Jacklyn showed him an understanding expression.

"So, what will we do now, Jacklyn-chan?" The brunette smiled at her.

"Taking a walk outside?" she suggested.

"Okay. Let's go!" Mikan took her hand.

They bade their seniors goodbye and walked out from the class into a view of green scenery and blue sky.

"Mikan, what's your alice?" Jacklyn asked as they walked to nowhere.

"Mine is nullification," Mikan replied. "I can nullify alices."

"So, if you use your alice, I couldn't use my alice?" Jacklyn guessed.

"Yup. Sort of," Mikan said happily.

"Natsume's is fire and Koko can read mind, right?" She made sure.

"Yes. Hotaru's is invention, Ruka's is animal pheromone, Anna's is cooking, Nonoko's is chemical, and Yuu's is illusion. There are still many alices that you can find here," Mikan explained.

As they talked, they didn't realize that they had arrived at the famous Sakura tree. Then they spotted a certain raven-haired boy lying on a branch of the tree.

"NATSUME!!" the brunette called him as she smiled brightly.

The aforementioned boy sat up and looked at the owner of the voice that he had known well. He spotted the sketchbook girl beside her too.

"Polka-dots," he muttered, but was noticed by her.

"I'm not Polka-dots! My name is Mikan!" she protested.

"You're not going to the class?" Jacklyn asked him.

"None of your business," he said as he leaned his back on the trunk.

Jacklyn bent her eyebrows at the answer, annoyed.

'_In the dangerous ability class, your alice will be used for academy's purpose.'_

'_I found him injured badly when I was on my way back from Hotaru's room. I insisted him to tell me what had happened. He just said that he was from a mission.'_

The sentence suddenly rang in her head, erasing her annoyance before as she thought, 'Maybe he doesn't like to be in that class. Maybe he doesn't want to be there.'

She let out a sigh and finally said, "Okay. It's none of my business."

"Good if you know," he retorted in his bored tone.

She arched an eyebrow, suddenly felt annoyed again. "Cocky boy," she murmured and…

"NATSUME!! PUT IT OUT!!" she shouted when she found her sketchbook being burnt again. The raven-haired boy just smirked.

But the fire suddenly extinguished. Jacklyn looked at the brunette beside her, who was smiling at her. Jacklyn smiled back at her as she said, "Thank you, Mikan." The brunette nodded.

"Tch. Polka, you disturbed me," the raven-haired boy that was forgotten for a while said in irritation.

"It's her precious thing! Don't burn it!" Mikan retorted.

"Whatever," Natsume said as he closed his eyes.

"You're lucky that you're up there. If not, I would have smacked you," Jacklyn growled, really annoyed because he burnt her sketchbook once again. Natsume ignored her, which making her feel unpleased.

But then, she smiled as she looked at those two. "I'll leave you two here. I still have something to do," she said as she ran away.

'What's that girl up too?' the fire caster thought as he looked at the running figure suspiciously.

"What business that she has to do anyway?" Mikan said under the branch, catching the fire caster's attention.

'Oh well. At least, she's here,' he thought, a little happy.

The brunette then looked at him. "Natsume, can I go up there?" she asked.

"No," he replied simply.

"Please."

"No."

"Come on."

"No."

Mikan puffed her cheeks in annoyance and started to climb the tree trunk, ignoring his answer.

When she almost reached the branch where Natsume was lying, her foot slipped and she fell. She already closed her eyes, waiting for the impact. But a hand caught hers. She looked up and saw him holding her hand, saving her from the fall.

"Natsume," she muttered. Natsume didn't say anything. Instead, he pulled her up to the branch where he was occupying at that time.

After Mikan sat on the branch successfully, he leaned back on the trunk. The brunette smiled at him and said, "Thank you, Natsume."

"Hn."

--To be continued--

**illutia mist: Ne, ne, Hotaru.**

**Hotaru: Don't use 'ne' on me. It doesn't suit you and you're not that innocent.**

**illutia mist: (Pouts) Geez. You don't have to react like that just because I used that word.**

**Hotaru: (Looks at illutia plainly) I think this is the right time to ask for the payment.**

**illutia mist: (Wide-eyed) WHAT?! You just appeared for some scenes and said a several dialogues and you've already asked for the payment?!**

**Hotaru: (Raises an eyebrow) Any problem with that?**

**illutia mist: Woah! Big problem!**

**Hotaru: Oh? Is that so? How about this? (Prepares her Baka Gun)**

**illutia mist: (Points at Baka Gun) That's HUGE problem!!**

**Hotaru: Which one will you choose?**

**illutia mist: (Wails) Not fair! You've made me broke in When I Met You and now you ask for the early payment in this fic?! Where's the contract?!**

**Hotaru: There has never been any contract from the start, dummy.**

**illutia mist froze for a while. And when it's written froze, it means she REALLY FROZE.**

**Hotaru: Tch. This dummy author froze herself.**

**illutia mist: … **

**Hotaru: (Annoyed) Why is she like this recently? This should be her job. Good readers, because this stupid author is freezing here, I'll replace her part to say this. Thank you for reading and please review. That's it. (Murmurs) I should ask an extra payment for this later.**

**illutia mist: … (…Hotaru, you're an evil…)**


	9. 9th Piece: In Central Town

**Jacklyn: …Hey.**

**Mikan: (Looks at Jacklyn) What's wrong?**

**Jacklyn: Looks like I just found something interesting there. (Points to a direction)**

**Mikan: (Looks at the direction where Jacklyn points) What's-Natsume! (Waves her hand to Natsume)**

**Natsume: (Looks at Mikan in annoyance) What?**

**Mikan: Look! (Points to the direction where Jacklyn just pointed)**

**Natsume followed the brunette's index finger to a direction. And they surely found something interesting there.**

**Natsume: (Smirks) Great.**

**Jacklyn: What are you waiting for? Let's go. (Walks to a certain direction)**

**Natsume: (Glares at Jacklyn) Since when she became the leader here?**

**Mikan: Since illutia created her…?**

**Natsume: Tch. I'll make sure that I'll make the freaky author pay back.**

**Mikan: You're so mean to her…**

**Natsume: (Raises an eyebrow at Mikan) You have calmed down now?**

**Mikan: (Tilts her head in confusion) What?**

**Natsume: Don't you want to hit that freaky author's head too?**

**Mikan: So?**

**Natsume: (Rolls his eyes and walks away) Whatever.**

**Mikan: Hey! Natsume! Wait! (Chases Natsume)**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**9th Piece: In Central Town**

"Jacklyn-chan!! Let's go to Central Town!!" a brunette suddenly beamed at the sleepy black-haired girl that was still lying on her bed.

Yes, it's Saturday and the clock showed 6.30 am in the morning.

Jacklyn was still in her cushiony bed and dreamed peacefully until someone suddenly barged into her room and awoke her with cheery smile and a little loud cheery voice.

That 'someone' named Mikan.

"Mikan? You're early today," Jacklyn mumbled as she rubbed her half-closed eyes. "What's with the Central Town? Don't we have any class today?"

"Yes, but only until 9 am. After that, we have free time!" Mikan chirped happily. "So, do you want to come with us to Central Town?"

"What is Central Town anyway?" Jacklyn asked as she got off from her bed.

"It's a small town inside this Alice Academy. They're selling many things there. You can say…it's more like a mall town!!" Mikan explained as she sat on Jacklyn's bed.

Jacklyn looked at her. "Okay, then when will we go?" she asked with a smile on her face.

"How about after the class? But we have to ask Natsume too. We can't go without our partner," Mikan said as she put her index finger on her chin.

"I doubt if he wants to go with us," Jacklyn said as she went into the bathroom.

"Then we just have to chase and persuade him! I always do that and it works!" the brunette said a little loudly, hoping Jacklyn could hear it.

'I won't guarantee about that, Mikan,' Jacklyn thought as she put the toothpaste onto the toothbrush. "Okay! But I still doubt it!" Jacklyn replied before she started to brush her teeth.

Ten minutes afterwards, Jacklyn went out from her bathroom in her uniform.

She grabbed her bag and sketchbook from the study desk. "Let's go or we'll be late," she told the brunette as she went to the door. Mikan followed her from behind.

After they were out of her room, Jacklyn locked it and inserted her room key to her pocket then they walked to their classroom together.

It's still early in the morning, so it's okay for them to walk.

Unknown to them, there were two girls standing far behind them.

They had eavesdropped Mikan and Jacklyn's conversation before when they accidentally passed by her room.

"That Sakura asked her to Central Town. Should we report this to Houji-sama?" a girl asked.

"Of course! She's still pissed off with that Jacklyn girl and she must have some plans to make the girl pay back," the other said with a sly smile.

"Yeah, and seeing that she's so close to Sakura, maybe we can use her to threat that arrogant girl," the first girl added.

And the two girls went off to report what they had just heard to their leader.

-x-

Mikan and Jacklyn arrived at the class early.

A few students in the class were quite surprised when they saw the usually-late-brunette arrived early than usual. Yuu was the first person that approached the two girls.

"Morning, Sakura-san, Jacklyn-san," he greeted them as he smiled.

"Morning, Iinchou!!" Mikan greeted him happily.

"Good morning, Tobita," Jacklyn greeted him too, smiling.

"Sakura-san, you're early today," Yuu said to Mikan.

"I'm excited because today I'll take Jacklyn to Central Town!" she told him enthusiastically.

Yuu chuckled softly. "You're really excited when it comes to Central Town."

Mikan looked around classroom and found a glimpse of someone that she had been searching for. Her eyes were shining brightly at the figure.

"HOOOTAAARUUU!!" she yelled as she ran to her best friend.

At first, Jacklyn just smiled when she saw the brunette running to her best friend like a lost child that found her mother.

But she was a little shocked when she saw Hotaru take out her Baka Gun and shoot Mikan until she flew back to the door and bumped into Jacklyn.

At that time, Jacklyn thought that she would fall on the cold floor.

But no.

Instead, she felt her back leaning on something that not hard, but also not soft either.

In her curiosity, she looked up and found an irritated face that was owned by one of two hottest boys at the Junior High School, Natsume Hyuuga.

They froze in that position for a while. All students were also silent when they saw the three of them at the door.

Actually, there were four of them. Ruka stood beside the crimson-eyed boy at that time.

At this scene, Sumire's jaw dropped.

"Are you going to stay like this or what?" Natsume broke the silence. He sounded very pissed off.

Jacklyn bent her eyebrows. 'What's wrong with him?' she thought, irritated at his tone. "It's not like that I want to bump into you either," she retorted as she helped Mikan straighten herself.

After she straightened herself, she looked at Natsume and said, "Anyway, thanks."

"Whatever," was his answer as he walked to his seat with Ruka without looking at her. Ruka smiled at the two girls and followed Natsume.

The seaweed-haired girl, Sumire Shouda, which was the president of Natsume-Ruka fans club walked to the two girls' direction.

…More like stomped to their direction.

She emitted a dangerous aura around her as she approached them. In the next second, she stopped in front of the black-haired girl, Jacklyn.

"You're doing it intentionally, aren't you?!" she scowled at the black-haired girl.

Jacklyn arched an eyebrow. "Why must I?" she asked in a bored tone.

"Because you know that Natsume-kun will get here at that time, so you bumped into him!" Sumire accused.

Jacklyn rolled her eyes. "I just prevented Mikan from falling to the floor and you're accusing me that I did that to attract that cocky boy's attention? You're ridiculous," she said as she walked passing the green-haired girl.

But before she could walk further, Sumire caught her arm.

Jacklyn stopped on her way and shifted her gaze from her left arm that had been held to Sumire, the suspect that held her arm. "Now, what?" she asked, pissed off.

"You won't get away with that excuse," the seaweed-haired girl said dangerously. Jacklyn glared at her, taking no hint that the girl threatened her.

"Let go of me. The class will start soon," Jacklyn said nonchalantly.

"Not until you admit that you bumped into my Natsume-kun intentionally!" Sumire insisted.

"I've told you. It's an accident. Why are you so insisting?" Jacklyn asked irritatingly as she tried to release her left arm from Sumire's grasp.

"Um, Permy…It's really an accident," Mikan finally said.

"Shut up, Sakura! I just want to show her what will happen if she's messing with the president of Natsume-Ruka fans club!" Sumire scolded.

And this action caused her…

"NO!! MY BEAUTIFUL HAIR!!" she shouted as her grasp on Jacklyn loosened.

Jacklyn was wondering at what just happened.

And there, she saw a fire appear in Sumire's green locks. Jacklyn kept on staring at the poor seaweed-haired girl who was running out from the class.

Jacklyn knew the suspect and glanced at Natsume who sat on the back of the class with manga covering his face. 'Why didn't he do it in the first place?' she thought, a half curious while a half again was irritated.

"Because Shouda has scolded Sakura," a familiar voice whispered in her ear.

Jacklyn was startled by the sudden voice near her ear then she turned to see who it was. "Koko?" she called his name. "When did you stand behind me?"

"Just now," he said, smiling his goofy smile.

"About what you said just now, is that true?" Jacklyn asked.

"Yes, it is," he replied simply.

"What are you saying about, Koko?" the brunette interrupted their conversation.

"Ah, it's about why Sumire's hair got burnt. It's because-MY HAIR!!" the mind reader suddenly shouted because his hair got a small fire on it at that time.

"It's because of your hair?" She was confused.

Jacklyn quickly grabbed Koko's arm and ran out from the class.

Luckily, the corridor was empty. No one was there at that time.

Jacklyn took out her pen and quickly drew a glass of water. She touched it and a glass of water appeared in her right hand. She quickly poured it on Koko's head and the fire finally extinguished.

"Thank you," he muttered as he sighed, relieved.

"No problem," she replied. "Does he always do that?" she asked as she inserted her pen into her pocket.

"If you annoy him and hurt Sakura," he replied as he touched his wet hair.

Realizing that the mind reader's hair was wet, Jacklyn took out her pen from her pocket again and drew a towel.

She touched it and handed the towel to the wet-haired mind reader. "Here. Use this." She smiled at him.

"Thanks," he said as he took the towel and started to dry his hair. "Let's go back to the class."

Jacklyn nodded and went back to the class with Koko.

When the two of them went into the class again, all students wondered where Koko got that towel from but decided not to ask.

Jacklyn, ignoring the attentions, just proceeded her way to her seat, which was in front of Mikan's.

"Your doing?" the brunette asked when Jacklyn had arrived in front of her.

Jacklyn knew what she meant. The brunette's question was referred at the towel on Koko's head.

"You think?" Jacklyn gave a 'peace' sign as she smiled.

"Yes, it is." Mikan grinned.

The animal prince, Ruka, was confused at what they were talking about, while Natsume just glanced at the brunette from his manga.

The door suddenly opened again and it revealed a wet green-haired girl and Narumi who was standing behind her.

Sumire walked to her seat as she sent a glare to Jacklyn, who looked away to the other direction.

Narumi then walked to the front of the class and said, "Good morning, class! Let's start our lesson today!"

And the class went on.

-x-

"Jacklyn-chan, have you seen him?" Mikan asked as she peeked into an empty classroom.

"Nope. I haven't seen him anywhere," Jacklyn replied as she gazed around the corridor.

The class had been over now and they were about to go to Central Town when they realized that they didn't catch any glimpse of a certain raven-haired boy.

"Have you told him that we'll go to Central Town today?" Jacklyn asked the brunette who was busy looking for a clue of him.

"No, I haven't. I was too attracted to your and Sumire's arguments then forgot about this plan," Mikan said, a little sad.

"Do you know where he always goes?" Jacklyn asked as she looked at Mikan.

The brunette thought for a while and then she clasped her hands together.

"Sakura tree!!" were the last words she said before she dragged Jacklyn to a certain Sakura Tree.

-x-

A raven-haired boy was lying on a branch of the Sakura Tree when suddenly he heard a familiar voice called him.

"NATSUME!!"

"Tch. Polka-dots," he grunted behind his manga that was covering his face.

"Natsume! Let's go to Central Town!" Mikan said from under the branch.

"I'm not going," he said, still with manga on his face.

"But I want to go! I can't go without my partners!" she whined.

"You can go with that sketchbook girl," he told her lazily.

"But you're my partner too!" she insisted. "Come on, Natsume! Please!"

"No."

"Please!"

"No."

"Natsume!"

"No."

While the brunette tried to persuade and the raven-haired boy kept on refusing, Jacklyn just stood there in silence. She decided not to get involved in their quarrel because she thought that her involvement would just worsen the situation.

"Onii-chan!"

Upon hearing the voice, Jacklyn and Mikan looked at the source of it.

Natsume lifted his manga from his face and looked at the little gray-haired boy that ran to their direction.

Seeing the little boy, an idea directly popped on Mikan's head. "You-chan! Do you want to go to Central Town?" she asked the little boy.

Youichi was silent for a while at the question, but then he nodded. The brunette gave out a wide smile at the silence answer.

She turned back her gaze to a certain someone on the branch. "Natsume! You-chan is also going! Come on!" she persuaded the raven-haired boy again.

Natsume just rolled his eyes. "No," he stated.

"Onii-chan, let's go to Central Town," Youichi suddenly asked him.

The fire caster looked at the little boy for a few seconds then sighed. "Fine," he said as he jumped off from the tree and walked away with Youichi following him.

"Let's go, Jacklyn-chan," Mikan said as she grabbed Jacklyn's wrist and ran to the direction where Natsume walked with Youichi.

-x-

Jacklyn was sitting in the bus now.

She, Mikan, Youichi, and Natsume sat at the back seat in the bus.

She sat near the window. Mikan sat beside her. Youichi sat between Mikan and Natsume. Natsume sat near the window on the other side.

Sometimes, the wind blew so hard, causing a few strands of Jacklyn's black hair to cover her own face.

At that time, when Jacklyn tugged that few strands of hair back to its place, her dark-brown eyes always caught Youichi staring at her for a second before he looked away.

'Is he suspicious at me?' Jacklyn couldn't help but think of that possibility while acting like nothing was wrong. 'I hope not.'

Finally, the bus arrived at the Central Town.

Mikan came out first, followed by Jacklyn, Youichi then Natsume.

"We're here!!" Mikan chirped happily as she stretched her arms.

"That's why I don't want to go here with you. You're too noisy," the raven-haired boy said as he walked away, followed by Youichi.

"Natsume! Wait!" the brunette chased him.

Jacklyn then followed her. "Mikan, where will we go?" she asked as she caught up with the brunette.

"How about we go to my favorite shop? There's a very delicious candy that you must try," Mikan said as she looked at Jacklyn.

"Okay," the black-haired girl agreed, smiling.

"The shop is there! Come on!" Mikan said as she took Jacklyn's hand and ran to a shop with a long queue. "It's quite popular, so we have to wait for a while," she added. "Why don't you wait there?" she pointed a bench near a tree there.

Jacklyn nodded as she watched the brunette take out a few papers that looked like some money; only, it had a different design.

"Is that a new design of our money?" she asked, curious.

Mikan looked at her with a smile on her face. "Nope. These are rabbits. This is what we use in this Alice Academy, not Yen," she explained. "We will get some every month, depending on our star's rank."

"Oh…"

"Now, you wait there. I'll be right back," she said before she left the black-haired girl there.

Jacklyn then went to a bench near a tree and sat on it.

While waiting for Mikan, she gazed around her circumstance. She then caught a glimpse of a familiar person.

A little surprised, she closed her eyes and opened it again.

That person that she thought she just saw before was gone.

'Maybe I just have a hallucination,' she thought as she rubbed her eyes.

"Jacklyn-chan, you're here too?" a voice said behind her, making her turn her head to the direction of it.

It's Anna and Nonoko.

"Anna? Nonoko? You're here too?" she said, a little surprised.

"Not only us. There are Yuu and Koko too," Nonoko said. "But Koko suddenly got a headache, so he went back to the academy."

"And Yuu is still checking the store for something," Anna added while pointing to a book-store.

"If you're here, where's Mikan-chan?" Nonoko asked.

"Ah, she's there," Jacklyn replied as she pointed to the candy shop where Mikan queued.

"You just came here with Mikan-chan?" Anna asked with curiosity engulfing her.

"No," Jacklyn smiled, "Natsume and Youichi are here too."

Anna and Nonoko blinked at her answer. "Where are they?" Nonoko wondered.

Jacklyn looked around and didn't see any sign of Natsume and Youichi there. "Let's say…they have their own business here," she concluded.

"Jacklyn-chan! I finally got it!!" a brunette shouted as she ran to the three girl's direction. "Ah there are Anna and Nonoko too! Hello, Anna! Hello, Nonoko!"

"Hello, Mikan-chan!" the two aforementioned said in unison.

"Do you want to join us eating this Howalon?" Mikan offered.

"Thank you, Mikan-chan. But it's okay, just eat it with Jacklyn-chan," Nonoko said. "She hasn't tried it."

"Okay then," Mikan said as she smiled.

The four girls chit-chatted happily, until the Howalon box was empty. Mikan went to find a trashcan to throw away the empty Howalon box. She left the three girls chatting in a quite long time.

They started to get worried.

"Mikan-chan hasn't come back since twenty minutes ago," Anna started.

"I wonder if she's lost…" Nonoko was worried.

"Then I'll search for her. You two can go back first," Jacklyn said as she stood up and ran away.

"See you later then!" the two said in unison, but Jacklyn was too far to hear it.

After ran for ten minutes, Jacklyn was a little lost. She stopped for a while and looked around.

'Where is she?' she thought in panic.

Then her dark-brown colored eyes caught a familiar figure that she had caught before in the Central Town too. The figure walked to a direction with two other girls.

Jacklyn quickly hid and opened her sketchbook.

She drew a hairpin and a mask that covered her face completely then she touched it. She wore the mask and clipped her long bangs up then went out from her hideout and made sure that she didn't recognize the wrong person.

'It's her, Marika Houji. My eyes didn't fool me before,' she thought as she recalled the moment when she caught a glimpse of her while waiting for Mikan.

Jacklyn looked around and found some people wore masks. Even though she wondered what occasion had been held there, she wondered more about what the girls were talking about.

Her feeling told her that those girls had something to do with Mikan.

She stopped a few meters from them and hid again.

She drew a tapper and an earphone to eavesdrop those girls' conversation. She touched it and threw the tapper near them while she put the earphone in her ears. Jacklyn could hear their voice from the earphone.

"Where did you hide her?"

"There's an empty warehouse at the outskirts of this town. We took her there."

"Have you found that Jacklyn girl?"

"No, I haven't. I'll keep on searching for her."

"Great. Now, you search for her again and you take me to the warehouse."

"I understand, Houji-sama. I'll go then."

"Hmph. Now let's see what you can do if we hold Sakura, Jacklyn-san…"

"May we go now, Houji-sama?"

"Yes. Take me there."

Jacklyn's eyes widened when she heard about the girl that they were talking about.

She had a bad feeling. And she knew that it was right.

Mikan was caught by them.

She decided to follow the two girls, which were Marika and her member. She must help the brunette.

Jacklyn followed them from behind.

After she followed them for a quite long time, they arrived at an empty warehouse. Nobody was there or even passing by there.

Jacklyn hid again and drew two weapons. She touched one of them and a gun-shaped thing appeared in her hand. She was ready to sneak into the warehouse now.

She sneaked in quietly and hid between piles of boxes that were put in there. She peeked a little and saw a familiar brunette lying helplessly on the cold floor, surrounding by some fan girls.

'Now, let's see what you get when you're messing with me and my friends,' she thought as she aimed her gun to their direction and…

GRAB!

Three girls were tied in one by a rope that come out from nowhere.

"Hey! What's this?!"

"Where did it come from?"

There's a ruckus in there after the girls suddenly tied by a rope. Jacklyn aimed her weapon to the other and…

GRAB! GRAB! GRAB!

More of them got tied. She aimed it to the other again and was about to shoot when…

"THERE'S A GIRL BEHIND THE BOX IN FRONT OF YOU!!"

Jacklyn looked at the voice and saw the girl that was commanded by Marika to search for her standing at the front door.

Her attention was averted to that girl when suddenly a pile of box fell down to her direction. She managed to dodge it in time and saw a few girls standing behind the boxes. Marika then moved forward. They were staring at each other for sometime when Marika finally spotted something on the mask girl's left arm.

A sketchbook.

She sneered. "So…you come for the rescue, huh?" she said in her coquettish tone.

Jacklyn was silent.

"Let's see if you can get out of here unharmed," Marika said as her members stood beside her, ready to launch an attack.

--To be continued--

**illutia mist: … (What a tragic fate…)**

**Jacklyn: Hey.**

**illutia mist: (Wide-eyed) (Ouch! NOT THEM!)**

**Jacklyn: (Smirks) Surprise? Wonder how you got frozen here.**

**illutia mist: (Darn it! It's good that it's just Jacklyn here!)**

**Natsume: I've told you! Whatever!**

**Mikan: Nah! That's not what you've said before!**

**illutia mist: (…Disaster…)**

**Natsume: (Looks at illutia then smirks) Being frozen, freaky author?**

**Hotaru: (Appears from nowhere) She froze by herself.**

**Mikan: Hotaru?!**

**Hotaru: I just said no contract that we ever signed and she froze.**

**Jacklyn: Good. Don't melt the ice. This is her punishment.**

**illutia mist: (Veins pop on her head) (WHAT THE HELL?!)**

**Natsume: Tch. Who wants to melt that anyway?**

**illutia mist: (Breaks the ice) ALL OF YOU ARE MEAN!!**

**Mikan: (Shock) Whoa! She broke the ice!**

**illutia mist: I'LL TORTURE YOU LATER!! (Runs away)**

**Jacklyn: (Annoyed) Darn it! We should have done something before!**

**Natsume: You're the one who told me not to melt the ice.**

**Jacklyn: (Glares at Natsume) And you're the one that said 'who wants to melt that anyway?'**

**Natsume glared back at her and the glaring contest finally began.**

**Mikan: …Uh…guys…**

**And the brunette was being ignored by them.**

**Mikan: …**

**Hotaru: Useless. You better do 'your routine job' because that freaky author has escaped once again. (Walks away)**

**Mikan: Oh right! (Smiles) Thank you for reading, good readers! Please review! (Murmurs in annoyance) Even though that author of this story left her responsible to me and ran away…**

**Natsume: And whose fault is it then?**

**Jacklyn: You, cocky boy!**

**Natsume: (Growls) I'll burn you…**

**Jacklyn: Nu-uh! I'll smack that head of yours!**

**Mikan: (Looks at the two and sighs) And left me with these won't-ever-cooperate two.**


	10. 10th Piece: Keeping Secrets

**Fluffy white clouds passed by. Among the clouds, there's a bright light that came from the sun, bringing a happy feeling and making small birds chirp happily there and then.**

**It's such a good day…**

**Natsume: Trying to smack my head again? It won't work.**

**Jacklyn: Oh yeah? Let's see if that really doesn't work! (Lifts her sketchbook)**

**Natsume: (Glares at Jacklyn) Don't blame it on me if that thing turns into ashes.**

**Jacklyn: Ho? Look who's talking here.**

…

**It should be a good day if those two didn't continue their argument from the last Piece…**

**Mikan: Blame it on that freaky author.**

**Ho? Again?**

**Mikan: (Rolls her eyes) Yeah…**

…

**Mikan: …Hey…**

**What?**

**Mikan: There's no narrator here, in this fic. Don't say that you migrated from When I Met You to here?**

…

…**Hey…You're right…How can I get here?**

**Hotaru: (Appears from nowhere) Again?**

…**I think…I better get off from here! Ja!**

**Mikan: Woah…that thing ran in such a hurry before I could ask something.**

**Hotaru: (Glint in her eyes) That thing is afraid of me.**

**Mikan: (Looks at Hotaru) … (Hotaru is really scary sometimes…)**

**Hotaru: (Staring at a certain view) So, those two still haven't finished their little business?**

**Natsume: Tch. Wonder why you look like that freaky author that much.**

**Jacklyn: Hello? Where's the part of me that looks like that freaky author?!**

**Mikan: …I wonder when all of this will be over?**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**10th Piece: Keeping Secrets**

"Onii-chan, Miken nee-chan and her friend are gone," Youichi said to his so-called big brother.

Natsume looked at him then looked around. When he didn't find someone that he was searching for, he bent his eyebrows in annoyance and muttered, "That Polka-dots must have dragged the sketchbook girl to the Howalon shop…"

"Should we check on them?" the little gray-haired boy asked. The fire caster nodded and started to walk to a certain direction with the little boy following him.

-x-

Jacklyn looked at the fan girls, counting how many they were as she thought of a plan.

"Cat got your tongue?" Marika smirked.

"Not really," Jacklyn said as she shot the rope gun to a random direction and it did tie another group of girls.

Marika and the rest members shifted their attentions to the just-been-caught girls. Jacklyn used this opportunity to shoot the others. Marika was surprised and shot a glare to Jacklyn, full of hatred. Jacklyn smirked behind her mask.

No one knew though.

"Let's see what you got!" Marika scowled as she pointed her finger to Jacklyn.

"Try," the black-haired girl in mask said, challenging her.

A girl with waist-length blue-haired moved forward and lifted her right hand. Jacklyn raised an eyebrow, wondering what that girl would do.

POKE!

Something hit Jacklyn's mask on the forehead and dropped on the floor. Jacklyn looked down and found that it was a pebble.

'Pebble? Is it her alice?' she thought as she looked up again, focusing her eyes to the girl that just threw the pebble at her.

The girl closed her right palm. When she opened it, something launched from it.

Jacklyn took two steps aside and it missed. The girl closed it again and opened it. She did it a few times and a pebble came out each time she opened her right palm. And this made the girl in mask had to run to avoid those pebbles.

After running for sometimes, Jacklyn aimed the girl and shot her rope gun. The girl was tied and this ended the pebbles' attack.

"Got you," Jacklyn muttered as she stopped running.

While the others were shocked and looking at the tied-girl, Jacklyn shot again and again, until all of them finally got tied.

Except for Marika who dodged all of the rope attacks perfectly.

"Trying to play amount with me? Sorry. But you're bad in strategy. No use," Jacklyn said in a cold voice. She glanced at Mikan who hadn't woken up. "What have you done to her?" she asked coldly, thinking that she would make the fans club's leader pay back if she ever hurt the brunette.

Marika smirked. "Just made her sleep. If not, she'll nullify our alices," she replied in a relaxed tone.

"Hurt her and I'll do the same to you," Jacklyn threatened.

"Not yet," the coquettish girl said as she formed many icicles in front of her and sent them towards the masked girl.

Jacklyn dodged it as she shot her rope gun at the other. Marika dodged it and sent another icicle to her again. At this attack, Jacklyn rolled to the side to dodge it and shot back. Marika formed an ice stalagmite, making the rope hit the stalagmite instead of her.

"Lucky," Jacklyn muttered angrily.

"Not really." Marika smirked as she threw the icicles towards the masked girl again.

This time, she sent the icicles without any gap, causing Jacklyn had no chance to shoot her. Jacklyn concentrated on dodging the icicles as she tried to find the opportunity to hit the wavy-black haired girl.

She couldn't shoot randomly. She afraid if she did that, it would hit the unconscious brunette.

Too bad, an icicle scratched her left leg and it attracted her attention, causing the other icicles to hit her right leg and make her fall on the floor.

Not enough with that, Marika sent more icicles to her and made her got scratches on her legs, arms and torn some parts of her uniform. Her sleeves had many cuts on it. Her black blazer also got cuts. Her skirt was safe, only its lower part that got cuts. Fortunately, she wore a mask. Well, her mask got a few scratches now.

Jacklyn sat up on the floor and glanced at her badly injured right leg. 'This is worse. My right leg got hit,' she thought in silence. She tried to stand and she managed to do it with some efforts.

Her opponent stood on the spot while letting out a sneer, "Still can move?"

Jacklyn looked at the leader. "You think?" she asked back.

"I doubt it after this," Marika said as she sent a few icicles again.

Jacklyn couldn't run, so she threw her body and rolled to dodge the icicles. But she knew she couldn't kept on dodging the attack, so she managed herself to give a shot and it hit the ice alice girl.

Jacklyn got up and ran towards the brunette as fast as she could. She reached the position where Mikan was lying when Marika stood up and cut the rope with an icicle that she formed from her ice alice.

Jacklyn lifted Mikan gently as she stared at the sneering Marika. She also spotted the fan girls had freed themselves one by one.

Probably Marika had freed a girl and the girl freed the others.

"Trying to play trick with me?" Marika said, sneering. She folded her arms in front of her chest.

Jacklyn got her sketchbook.

There was still a weapon.

She brought her sketchbook in front of her chest and without the others' knowing, she touched the drawing and it appeared in her right hand. She smirked.

"You're the one who's playing trick with me!" she stated as she threw the weapon to the fan girls' direction.

The thing hit the floor and fog started to engulf them.

It's a fog bomb.

"Darn you, Little Devil! What's this thing?!" Marika scowled while struggling inside the fog.

"I won't tell!" the mask girl replied as she took her pen from her pocket and drew a pair of wings like before.

She must use these wings again because she couldn't run with her right leg's condition.

She trusted the drawing to herself and a pair of white wings appeared on her back once again. She carried Mikan by piggy back with her sketchbook also in her hand that carried the brunette. She didn't want to leave the sketchbook, for it had an important remembrance to her.

Jacklyn realized that she hardly could stand with the injures and she had lost almost all of her energy on her alice too.

She tried hard to flap her wings and she finally flew out from the warehouse to the sky, leaving those fan girls still struggling with the fog.

She decided to go to the hospital first, for she was too worried about the brunette that was lying unconscious on her back at that time.

-x-

"Onii-chan, I don't see Mikan nee-chan and her friend," Youichi said as he looked at the queue to the Howalon shop.

"Tch. Both of them are troublesome," the raven-haired boy grunted.

"Maybe they have gone back to the Academy," Youichi guessed as he tugged at Natsume's sleeve. "Should we go back too?"

Natsume looked at the little boy then looked around. 'She went back first? It's unusual,' he thought.

Youichi tugged his sleeve again. "Onii-chan, it's lunch time now. I have to go back."

The crimson eyes gaze turned from the crowd to the little gray-haired boy once again. "So hurry?" he asked him.

Youichi nodded as a reply before he said, "Miss Angel has promised me that she'll drop a feather under the Sakura tree everyday at lunchtime."

At this statement, Natsume arched an eyebrow. 'What a weird angel,' he thought. "…Okay, let's go back," he said as he walked to the bus station. 'I'll come here again if that Polka hasn't gone back to the academy,' he thought silently.

-x-

"You shouldn't read people's mind too much," a doctor said to a certain mind reader while walking to the hospital's entrance door.

"I don't want to. They're the one who thinks too much," he defended while walking beside the doctor.

"You must learn to control your alice or you'll get another headache again," the doctor said as he stopped in front of the door and looked at Koko, smiling.

"I'll try. Thank you, doctor," the boy said as he walked out from the hospital.

He just walked for a few meters from the hospital when someone suddenly landed in front of him. Of course he was surprised by the sudden appearance, moreover when he saw a familiar face of the figure.

"Jacklyn-san!" he called her name as he approached the wounded black-haired girl.

Good thing that no one was there at that time.

"Ko…Koko…" the girl managed to mutter in the middle of pain. "Take Mikan inside…Quick…"

She handed the brunette on her back to him as the mind reader looked at the wounded girl. "How about you? You…" He stopped when he read her mind.

Jacklyn opened her sketchbook and drew a white hood-robe and a white feather. She touched it and a white hood-robe appeared in her hand, as well as the white feather. "Koko…"

"I know," Koko cut her off. "You have to keep your promise to Youichi. I'll call Narumi-sensei after I take Mikan inside." Jacklyn still stared at him, wanting him to read her another message. "…And you forbid me to tell him anything about the fan girls. I understand."

She managed to smile after she heard that. "Thanks…And I want to entrust this to you…" she said as she handed her sketchbook.

Koko took it and nodded. "You better go now before Youichi see you there," he suggested.

"It's okay…I wore this mask and hood-robe…These are enough…to cover my face and wounds…" she said as she wore the hood-robe, covering her shoulder-length black hair. "I trusted Mikan to you…" she added as she flew to the Sakura tree.

Koko watched the hood girl flying to a certain direction and muttered, "…But the wounds on your legs aren't covered…"

-x-

Jacklyn finally arrived at the Sakura tree.

But when she wanted to land, her body got weakened all of a sudden, causing her to fall limply on the branch.

'Darn! This hurts!' she thought as she struggled to sit up on the branch.

She jumped off from the branch and landed on the ground in kneeling position because her body hardly could stand up at that time. She took out the feather and was about to put it under the tree when…

"MISS ANGEL!!"

This call made Jacklyn turn her head to the voice's direction and she saw a certain little gray-haired boy running to her direction.

She stood up limply and leaned on the trunk of the Sakura tree. She also realized that she had been breathing heavily then tried to calm herself as the little boy approached her.

"Hello…Youichi…" she said, trying to sound fine.

"Miss Angel, you said you can't-"

"I have to…say something…to you…" she cut his word off.

"…Miss Angel, are you okay?" He looked at her worriedly.

"I-I'm fine…" Jacklyn managed to say.

She took out a white feather that she hadn't put under the tree before from inside her robe and gave it to Youichi.

"I can't…give you a feather tomorrow…I'm sorry…" She felt guilty because she had promised to him.

"Why? What's wrong, Miss Angel?" The little boy was curious.

"…I can't say…sorry…" Jacklyn hugged the little boy.

But this act caused her to kneel on the ground, losing her balance.

Her right leg was wounded badly, remember?

"…Miss Angel?" he muttered while just standing there, letting himself be hugged by the so-called angel.

After a few seconds, the girl felt her vision getting blurred slowly. 'I'm almost at my limit. I must go now or my cover will be blown up,' she thought as she tried to stand up again. "I can't guarantee…I can give you a feather tomorrow…" she said while breathing heavily.

"It's okay, Miss Angel. But now you looked hurt," Youichi stared at her mask. He didn't see her expression, but he knew she was breathing heavily from her breathing sound.

"You're right, Youichi," a deep voice said. Jacklyn snapped her head to the direction of the voice, surprised.

"Onii-chan!" the little boy let out a smile when he saw the familiar crimson-eyed boy walking to their direction. "Miss Angel, this is my Onii-chan that I've told you before."

"So you're Miss Angel," Natsume said as he observed her mask that was covering her face.

Jacklyn was still in her surprised state. 'Natsume?! Lucky that I'm wearing mask and this hood-robe or he'll recognize me easily!' she thought in silence as she recovered from her surprise. "You're…Hyuuga…" she said, trying to be different from 'Jacklyn'.

The raven-haired boy raised an eyebrow. "Youichi told you, huh?" he said nonchalantly.

"Yes…he does…" Jacklyn replied. "How long have you been here?" she asked hesitantly.

"I'm with Youichi. The different is he ran, so he arrived here a few seconds faster than me," he explained in a bored tone.

"Oh…Too bad…We just met, but…I have to go now…" the hooded girl said, trying to be kind.

She turned away, but her right leg didn't listen to her, causing her to kneel on the grassy ground. 'Darn!' she thought as she held back the pain.

Seeing the so-called angel suddenly knelt on the ground, the little boy came for the rescue. "Miss Angel, are you hurt?" He held her arm, trying to help her.

Jacklyn shook her head and stood up once again.

Then the little boy saw it. His eyes widened.

"Miss Angel! Your leg!" he exclaimed.

'Darn! He found out!' she slapped herself mentally. "It's…It's okay. Don't worry…" she convinced him as she walked away limply. "See you later, Youichi…Hyuuga…" Jacklyn took a deep breath. 'I must fly quite high. If not, Natsume will know where I go,' she thought.

She started to flap her wings and flew high to the sky, leaving the two males staring at the direction where she disappeared in silence.

"I hope she'll be okay…" Youichi said sadly as he held the feather tightly. Natsume looked at him and patted his head gently.

-x-

Koko was inside the hospital.

He had taken Mikan to the nurse and now he was waiting for a certain person who entrusted the sketchbook to him. He decided to go out from the hospital.

When he was out from the hospital, he spotted a body lying on the ground with those white wings covering the figure. He directly knew who that was.

"Jacklyn-san!" he quickly approached the so-called angel. He lifted her body gently and stared at her already pale face.

"Ko…ko…" she stammered weakly, "…please…tell…"

"I know. Please tell Mikan that you're sorry, right?" Koko read her thought, trying not to let her speak, for it would just worsen her condition. "Hold on! I'll take you inside!" the mind reader said as he took her by piggy back and started to run to the hospital in front of them

Not long afterwards, Jacklyn fell unconscious on his back.

-x-

"Ngh…" a pair of hazel eyes opened slowly and found a white ceiling as its first view after the slumber of unconsciousness.

"Are you alright, Mikan?" Hotaru walked into the mentioned girl's vision.

"Ho…taru?" Mikan muttered.

"Mikan-chan!" Anna and Nonoko said in unison, worried.

"Anna?…Nonoko?" The brunette looked at them who were standing at her right side.

"Are you okay, Sakura?" Ruka appeared at the Hotaru's side.

"Ruka-pyon?" She looked at the blonde-haired boy with his rabbit in his arms.

"You finally woke up," the class representation sighed in relief.

"Iinchou? Umm, what are all of you doing here? Where is this?" the brunette was confused.

"You're in the hospital, Sakura-san," Yuu said as he smiled.

"Hospital? Why am I here?" she asked as she sat up.

"That's what I want to know," a deep familiar voice suddenly said.

Mikan averted her gaze to the voice's direction, seeing a certain crimson-eyed leaning on the wall with a little gray-haired boy standing beside him.

"Natsume, you're here too," she said, just realizing.

"You're lost in Central Town with that sketchbook girl. Youichi thought you two have gone back, so we went back too, and what we got was the news that you're in hospital with that sketchbook girl," he told her as a little angry tone could be heard in his sentence.

"Um, I…WAIT!! JACKLYN-CHAN IS HOSPITALIZED TOO?!" the brunette shouted in surprise.

BAKA!

"Ouch! Hotaru, it hurts!" she whined while holding her sore head with her hands.

"This is hospital if you forgot. You're too noisy," the Ice Queen said coldly.

"Sorry," the brunette muttered. "So, why is Jacklyn-chan being hospitalized?" she asked, curious and worried.

"We don't know. She can't be visited until around tomorrow noon. That's what Narumi-sensei said," Ruka informed her.

"Is she injured badly?" she asked again.

"Sort of," this time, the Ice Queen was the one that replied her question. "Narumi said she has scars almost over all her body."

Hearing this, the brunette got more curious and more worried, "What happened to her?"

Anna shook her head and said, "We don't know. Koko was the one who took her here."

"Koko?" Mikan wondered.

Just at that time, the mind reader went into the room and spotted that the brunette had awoken. "Sakura, you're awake," he said with a smile.

"Koko, I heard you're the one who took Jacklyn-chan to this hospital," the brunette directly attacked him with her question.

"Oh, yeah, that's right," the mind reader nodded then he remembered something. "May I ask you something, Sakura?" he asked hesitantly.

The mentioned person looked at him and blinked. A smile escaped from her lips as she asked, "What is it?"

"How did you get fainted?" he asked.

The brunette blinked again. "I fainted?" she asked while pointing at herself, disbelieved.

"Jacklyn-san was the one who brought you to the entrance of hospital when I just went out from this hospital," the mind reader told her. "I've read her thoughts. From there, I knew that you fainted."

Mikan thought in silence for a few minutes while the others were waiting for her answer.

Then it hit her.

Mikan lifted her head to face her friends. "I remember! When I was searching for a trashcan, someone covered my nose and mouth with a handkerchief then my vision turned black," she recalled the time when she was searching for a trashcan in Central Town.

"So that's it…" Koko muttered as he held his chin with his index finger and thumb.

The others looked at him in wonder, especially the fire caster. "Spill it out, Koko," Natsume said impatiently.

"So, it's like this," the mind reader boy started. "After Sakura was kidnapped by that people, Jacklyn-san searched for her because she hasn't come back. Then Jacklyn-san found the people who kidnapped Sakura and fought them. She got injured badly, but she managed to take Sakura to this hospital before she, herself, got unconscious," Koko ended the shorted version.

The brunette fell silent for a while. "So…It was my fault she's being hospitalized…" she said as she bent down her head, feeling guilty.

"No, it's not," Koko disagreed.

As she heard his words, she looked up. "Huh?" She was confused.

"Before she fainted, she wanted me to tell you this," he said. "She wanted me to tell you that she's sorry."

Mikan tilted her head a little. "But…why…? I'm the one who troubled her…" she muttered in confusion.

Koko just shrugged. 'I can't tell her that the fan girls were the one that attacked her. I've promised to Jacklyn-san. Sorry, Sakura," he thought while looking at Mikan with a 'sorry' look.

Natsume looked at the brunette then at the mind reader. "Koko, if you've read her thought then you must know who she fought back then," he speculated.

'Why is this guy so smart?' the mind reader thought as some beads of sweats were on his forehead. "I'm not quite sure, because in her thought, that person wore a mask and hat," he lied.

Natsume raised an eyebrow at the boy's answer. He hardly believed his answer. 'It looks like Koko is hiding something from us. I better ask that sketchbook girl when she has awakened,' he thought as he looked at the mind reader suspiciously.

"By the way, how did Jacklyn-chan bring me here? Am I not too heavy for her if she's injured?" Mikan suddenly remembered.

"She gave you a piggy back ride," Koko replied. 'At least, not all of it is a lie,' he thought as he smiled inwardly.

She looked at her lap, thinking. "She can't be visited, huh? How about if we peek on her from the window?" she said out her silly idea.

"Sakura-san! It's dangerous!" Yuu snapped, couldn't believe what he just heard.

"I've done it," Hotaru said.

At her statement, all peoples in the room sweat dropped, except Natsume and Youichi.

"So, how is she doing now?" the brunette asked the inventor impatiently.

"I can't see her. The window at her room was locked and there is a curtain that blocked my view back then," Hotaru said with a stoic face.

Mikan stared at her. "Why is her room being closed? Is she in a critical state?" She was getting more worried.

Hotaru and Natsume remained expressionless while looking at the brunette in silence. The others were looking at her with a worried face.

Then something struck the brunette's mind. She looked at the mind reader. "Koko, you said Jacklyn-chan fought the kidnapper, right?" she confirmed. Koko nodded. Mikan looked back at her lap again. 'It must be hard for her to fight them with her alice…' she thought silently.

The crimson-eyed boy looked at the silent brunette as he thought of something that had bothered him all this time. "Oi, Polka, you know what her alice is?" he asked, curious.

Mikan looked at him, tilting her head a little. "Who?" she asked in confusion.

"That sketchbook girl…" he mentioned Jacklyn's nickname that was given by him.

Mikan's lips formed an 'o' shape then she fell silent. "No…I don't know…" she managed to reply after a few seconds.

Natsume observed her, knowing the brunette was hiding something from him. 'That girl is really something. She hides too much secret. I wonder…' he thought as he locked his crimson eyes to the brunette.

--To be continued--

**Jacklyn: (Veins pop on her head) NAAATTTSSSUUUUUMMMMEEEE!!**

**SMACK!**

**Natsume: (A vein pops on his head too) What the hell?!**

**Jacklyn: How dare you burn my sketchbook!!**

**Natsume: You're the one who asked me to do it!**

**Jacklyn: Hell! No! And never!!**

**Natsume: You're the one that nagged me to do it!**

**Jacklyn: Oh, please! You're the one who intended to do it in the first place!**

**Natsume: Tch. You're the one that challenged me!**

**SMACK!**

**Natsume: What the hell?! What's that for now?!**

**Jacklyn: For I can't and will never forgive you!!**

**Natsume: (Growls) I'll burn your sketchbook again…**

**Jacklyn: I heard that, cocky boy!!**

**And the arguments kept moving on and on, leaving a certain brunette freezing on her spot, watching the two throwing words at each other.**

**Mikan: …When will they stop these non-sense page-wasting arguments?**

**Hotaru: (Unemotionally) Never. Thanks you for reading, good readers. Please review. (Mutters) At least, that freaky author has many debts to me now for doing this.**

**Mikan: … (Looks like there's no one remembers that we have to search for illutia now…)**


	11. 11th Piece: A Trade

**Someone: MUAHAHAHAHAHA!! I'M FREE!!**

**Someone shouted from nowhere. But please! Someone? All of you know who she is.**

**BAKA!**

**Someone: OUCH!**

**Hotaru: (Blows the smoke from her Baka Gun) You're not free, freaky author. And don't act like such a maniac there.**

**illutia mist: (Pouts) Geez, Hotaru. Can you not be mean to me even for a second?**

…

**BAKA!**

**illutia mist: (Rubs her forehead) WHAT THE?!**

**Hotaru: (Polishes her shining Baka Gun) You just asked for a second.**

**illutia mist: You really meant that?! It means: can you not hit me sometimes, Ice Queen!**

**BAKA!**

**illutia mist: (Holds her forehead) HEY!!**

**Hotaru: I'm not an idiot and I absolutely know what it means.**

**illutia mist: (Mutters in annoyance) Geez…Why in this fic is filled with the 'BAKA!' sound and the other with 'SMACK!' sound? What the heck is going on now?**

**Hotaru: Because you're an idiot.**

**illutia mist: (Pouts) I'm not an idiot.**

…

**illutia mist: (Eyes widen)…Uh…How did you know I'm here?**

**Hotaru: (Glint in her eyes) I have many resources.**

**illutia mist: (Looks around) Don't say that…**

**Hotaru: (Rolls her eyes) No. That character of yours is having a quite-long-boring debate with Hyuuga.**

**illutia mist: (Tilts her head) Is that so?**

**Hotaru: A hundred rabbits for repeating that.**

**illutia mist: … (Grins) I have to see that.**

**And with that, she went off.**

**Hotaru: What a troublesome author.**

…

**Hotaru: Darn. I should have asked for the payments before. (Chases illutia)**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**11th Piece: A Trade**

"Narumi-sensei, pleeeaaseee…" Mikan pleaded with her big-puppy eyes.

The blonde teacher sweat dropped at her pleads. "Um…I can't, Mikan-chan. You must wait until noon," he tried to persuade the brunette.

Today was Sunday. Mikan, Hotaru, Ruka, and Natsume were at hospital. They were now in front of Jacklyn's room, trying to deal with Narumi so they could visit her, except for Natsume who came because he was forced by a certain brunette.

"But-but-but why?" Mikan whined.

"Because I said so," Narumi replied jokingly. "Umm, is this just my imagination or I smell something burnt?"

"Your right sleeve got burnt," Hotaru said nonchalantly.

Narumi automatically looked at his right sleeve, and there was a small fire eating his sleeve for sure. "WHA-?!" he shouted as he tried to extinguish the fire that suddenly appeared on his right sleeve. "NATSUME-KUN!! YOU'RE MEAN!!"

"Shut up, gay," the crimson-eyed boy replied sarcastically.

"Hold on, Narumi-sensei!" Mikan concentrated on her alice and the fire extinguished after a few seconds, leaving a quite big hole on the teacher's sleeve.

"Thank you, Mikan-chan," Narumi sighed in relief as he patted Mikan's head.

"Tch. You disturbed me, Polka," Natsume said, irritated.

"It's not good to burn teacher's sleeve, Natsume!" the brunette lectured him. "And my name's Mikan!"

"Whatever," he muttered as he looked away, still irritated.

"It will be noon in two minutes again," the inventor said as she looked at the clock on the wall.

Mikan looked back at Narumi, remembering her plead before. "Narumi-sensei, can I?" she pleaded with her puppy eyes again.

Narumi shook his head and waved his index finger in front of her. "A,a, you must wait two minutes again," he said with a smile.

"Narumi-senseeeiiii…" the brunette wailed, still with her puppy eyes.

Narumi, standing on his decision, shook his head and this just caused his sleeve to be burnt again.

Of course, by a certain crimson-eyed boy.

"NATSUME-KUN!!" he waved his arm, trying to extinguish the fire. Initiatively, the brunette activated her alice and extinguished the fire once again.

BAKA!

The miserable sound was the result of being hit by the blackmailer, who had run out her patience watching the short play in front of her.

The victim?

Who again if it's not the gay teacher.

"It has been two minutes," she said with an expressionless face while pulling back her Baka Gun. Ruka just sweat dropped watching the whole scene.

"Okay, okay. Please be patience," Narumi said as he rubbed his head that was hit by Hotaru's Baka Gun.

He turned the doorknob and opened the door. He let the four friends go inside the dim room. The curtain was still closing the window, preventing sunlight to go inside the room.

In the dim room, they saw a black-haired girl still sleeping peacefully on the bed. Her uniform had changed into the patient clothes. Her scars that were said almost over all her body had been gone. She was breathing softly in her sleep, not feeling being bothered by the guests' presence.

"It looks like she is just fine," the brunette said as she sighed in relief, staring at the sleeping girl.

Hotaru gazed around the room. "Why the window must be covered with the curtain? It's dim here," she wondered.

"I think she can't rest well if it is too bright, so I decided to cover the window with the curtain," Narumi excused.

Mikan shifted her gaze from Narumi and the inventor back to the sleeping girl. She spotted something on the bedside table in the process.

Jacklyn's sketchbook.

There was a little stain of blood on it. She took the sketchbook and stared at the blood stain.

"She must have fought so hard…" she muttered sadly as she touched the stain of blood on the sketchbook. Narumi, Hotaru, Ruka, and Natsume stared at the brunette as she opened the sketchbook.

She spotted something behind the front cover. "…Oh…So that's why she gets mad if someone is messing around with her sketchbook…" she said.

"Why is that?" Natsume asked as he raised an eyebrow.

Mikan gave him a sign to come near her, which he did in the next second. She showed him what she had found behind the front cover of the sketchbook.

_Guess who gave this?_

_That's right! Mom!_

_I know that you like drawing, so I gave you this._

_Use it well._

_Mom_

"Now you know about this, don't burn her sketchbook again, okay?" the brunette lectured him, staring straight into his eyes.

"Tch." Natsume looked away. "It's none of my business."

Mikan pouted a little, not satisfied with his answer. "Natsume, that's not good, you know," she said, but the boy didn't care.

Fuming a little, Mikan looked back to the sketchbook, opening from page to page. Of course, the first page and the second page were empty because Jacklyn had made it alive before without their acknowledgement.

Still remember? The Sakura petal and shamrock. It's on chapter 3.

Some of them had drawings in it, but most of them were still empty. Mikan skipped to the last page.

There's a different drawing there.

It's a boy.

His hair was orange and he had blue eyes. His smile was a warm one, leaving a cheery impression to those who saw him. The brunette was curious because he was the only drawing in human form in the sketchbook.

'I wonder who he is,' she thought silently.

"Why are you staring at this one longer than the others?" a certain crimson-eyed boy interrupted her thought.

The brunette looked at him. "I'm just curious who he is. He looks great and he has a warm smile," she said as she smiled.

"It's just a drawing," Natsume grunted in irritation.

He's jealous? To a drawing?

Mikan focused her eyes back to the drawing. "I wonder if he's someone important to Jacklyn-chan," she said.

"Whatever. I don't care," the fire caster said as he walked away.

Mikan closed the sketchbook and put it back on the bedside table. She looked at Jacklyn whose eyes were still closed. "Get well soon," she muttered as she smiled warmly even though the sleeping girl couldn't see it.

-x-

"Something is fishy here," Hotaru suddenly said.

"Huh?" Ruka was confused at the sudden statement that came out from the inventor's lips.

Hotaru and Ruka just went out from the hospital with Natsume and Mikan. On the way, the fire caster went to the other direction and the brunette followed him, leaving the inventor and the animal prince going back to the dorm together.

"My intuition is telling me that Koko and Narumi are lying," Hotaru said in a stoic face.

"How do you know?" Ruka asked as he looked at the expressionless inventor.

The raven-haired girl looked straight at his cerulean eyes. "First, Koko said that Jacklyn told him to say her sorry to Mikan. I wonder why that is. Second, both of them were acting strange back then, whether when Koko was being asked about the kidnapper and when Mikan was being asked by Hyuuga about that girl's alice," she explained as her face still remained expressionless. "Very weird."

The animal prince fell silent, amazed of how the inventor was thinking. Hotaru kept on walking as she thought about the weird things that she just said to the blonde-haired boy beside her.

-x-

"Natsume…" Mikan called a certain raven-haired boy who was lying on the grass beside her under the Sakura tree.

"Hn," he replied while having his manga covering his face. His hands were under his head, being his pillow on the grassy ground.

"You think…when will Jacklyn-chan awake?" she asked as she stared at the blue sky.

"Don't care," he answered nonchalantly.

The brunette puffed her cheeks as she looked at the ignorant boy. "Hey! She's your friend too!" she complained.

"Who said that?" Natsume asked in a teasing tone.

"Um…Me…?" she answered unsurely.

"And I never said that I'm her friend," the raven-haired boy stated.

Mikan looked at him in dissatisfied. "She considers you as her friend," she defended Jacklyn.

"She never said that," he snapped.

"She never said it but she always considers you as her friend!" she defended her again.

"By calling me 'cocky boy'? I don't think so," Natsume retorted.

"Natsume! It's not a good thinking!" the brunette scolded as she snatched his manga away from his face, revealing his handsome face and those crimson eyes that stared at her in annoyance.

"Why are you defending her that so badly?" he asked while bending his eyebrows, annoyed.

"Because she is my friend. She's our friend." Mikan gave him a warm smile. "And you are my friend too."

"Tch. Who said that I'm your friend?" he asked annoyingly as he looked way. He couldn't stand the warm smile. It made him blush slightly.

"Why must be said? There's no need to say that we're friends just to be a friend," she said innocently. "Just being together like this is enough to be friends."

"You're the one who always disturbs me here," Natsume said matter-of-factly.

The brunette stared at him in irritation. "Geez! You don't have to be that coldhearted! I always consider you as my friend all this time even though you're always mocking and treating me badly," she grunted. 'And to think that I have a little feeling for you, I feel stupid!' she added in her thought.

"No one told you to consider me as your friend. You annoy me," he said as he sat up. 'And you'll just be my biggest weakness.'

Mikan looked at him sadly. "So…you don't like being together with me like this?" she asked, a little upset.

"…" He didn't look at her and just stared at nowhere in front of him; anywhere, but her.

"Okay, I won't talk again. I'm annoying," she said as she leaned on the trunk and hugged her knees.

"That's better," Natsume muttered.

The two sat in silence after their little quarrel. The wind blew softly, making the brunette suddenly feel so sleepy. She slowly closed her eyes and drifted to sleep. The fire caster didn't know because he was looking at the other direction at that time.

After a few minutes in silence, he wondered why the brunette was so silent. Then he remembered his manga that was taken by her before.

"Hey, Polka, give me back my-"

His sentence was cut off when he saw the brunette sleeping peacefully beside him.

He stared at her innocent face while his hand was moving by its own, pulling off the ribbon at the right side, making the hair untied and fall smoothly on her shoulder. He also untied the other pigtails too.

He looked at her new look and admired it. 'She is more beautiful like this,' he thought while lifting his hand and running his fingers through her long auburn hair.

"Natsume…" she mumbled.

Natsume raised an eyebrow, pulling back his hand slowly from her long hair. 'Is she sleep talking?' he thought in wonder.

"…You're stupid," she finished her sentence.

After hearing this, a vein popped on Natsume's head. Then he sighed as he looked at the sleeping brunette. "Stupid little girl."

-x-

Narumi opened the curtain that was covering the window before then stared at the sleeping Jacklyn. He looked at the sketchbook that had a little stain of blood on it. He let out a sigh.

"Koko lied, didn't he?" he asked to no one. "What are you hiding, Jacklyn-chan? All that wounds were too bad…"

Narumi then grew quiet, still staring at the black haired girl. He caressed her forehead gently, smiling slightly at his student's peaceful sleeping face. "Get better soon," he whispered before he went out from the room.

Unknown to him, a figure was watching from a tree branch near the window. The person smiled mischievously.

"Not only a useful alice, but you also have a big weakness too, little angel…" he muttered.

-x-

Monday, lunchtime…

"Come on, Natsume! Quick!" Mikan said as he dragged Natsume along the corridor at the hospital.

"Can't you be calm for a while? She won't go anywhere," the crimson-eyed boy said, a little irritated being dragged by the brunette.

"I can't wait to meet her! Narumi-sensei said that she has awakened this morning!" she chirped happily, still dragging the now-annoyed fire caster.

"And why must I come here with you?" he asked irritatingly.

"Because the others have their own business and you're the only one who has leisure time," she replied.

"Can't you come here alone?" Natsume complained.

"I can! But I think it's better if I bring someone or more! She will be happier!" Mikan excused.

Finally, they arrived at a certain room which they had gone the day before. Mikan directly barged into the room.

"Jacklyn-chan! I come with Natsume to visit you!!" she squealed happily.

The aforementioned girl was a little startled because the brunette suddenly barged in. She was doing her assignment when Mikan came in.

"Mikan? You're so energetic," the black-haired girl greeted the brunette with a smile.

Looking at her smile, Mikan immediately hugged her…more like bumped onto her…

"Jacklyn-chan!! I'm so worried!!" she exclaimed as she hugged the black-haired girl tightly.

"Mi…Mikan…to…tight…" Jacklyn stuttered, trying to breath. Her face started turning into a blue one.

"Oh, sorry," the brunette apologized as she released the lack-of-oxygen-now girl.

Jacklyn took a deep breath before she smiled and answered, "It's alright." She looked at the brunette for a few seconds before she asked, "Have you eaten your lunch? You didn't come here immediately after the class was over, right?"

"She is," the forgotten fire caster finally spoke out.

Jacklyn looked at the direction where the voice was coming from and found Natsume leaning on the wall near the window. "Natsume? So you came too."

"Polka forced me," he said in annoyed tone.

Jacklyn blinked. "Natsume, I've been wondering about this from the first time. Why are you calling Mikan 'Polka'?" she asked, having no idea about the nickname that the crimson-eyed boy gave to the brunette.

"Because it's her-"

"STOP IT! MY NAME'S MIKAN!" the brunette shouted, cutting off his sentence while blushing furiously.

"Mikan? Are you okay? Your face is red," Jacklyn asked in concern while Natsume just smirked at the nullifier's reaction.

The brunette tried to calm herself down and hoped that the red color was gone from her face. "Yes, I'm okay. By the way, what are you doing now?" she asked the black-haired girl, trying to shift the topic.

Jacklyn looked at her lap. "Oh, this?" she asked as she pointed the books that were scattering on her lap. Mikan nodded. "I felt so bored so I decided to do Math's homework," she answered calmly.

Mikan blinked twice then her eyes widened. "OH MY GOD!! I FORGOT ABOUT THE MATH'S ASSIGNMENT!!" she shouted in panic.

"Mikan, calm down. I still have blank here and there at the assignment too," Jacklyn tried to calm the panicked brunette.

The brunette looked at him with teary eyes. "But I'm worse than you! I haven't done it even one number!!" she was panicked.

"I've told you. It can be done in a half day," Natsume snapped, being fed enough with the brunette's panic.

Mikan glared at him, still with her teary-eyed. "Yeah! If it's you!" she retorted angrily.

"You're too stupid. That's why," the crimson-eyed boy mocked the angry brunette.

"You're the one who don't want to teach me! You're a bad partner!" she argued back.

And the quarrel went on, leaving a certain black-haired girl watching in speechless from her bed. Jacklyn just sighed at the familiar view before she saw a white bird flying in from the opened window.

She stretched out her hand and let the white bird land on her index finger.

She then moved her hand in front of her face. "Thanks you," she whispered to the bird, earning a small snuggle from the bird on the tip of her nose.

Natsume and Mikan stopped to argue as they saw the friendly moment between Jacklyn and the mysterious white bird.

"Jacklyn-chan, it's a beautiful bird." Mikan's eyes sparkled as she looked at the white bird.

"Really? It's a pigeon," Jacklyn smiled as she brought the white bird in front of Mikan.

The pigeon stared at the brunette with its cute-small-black eyes. "Wow! It's cute!" She patted the pigeon's head gently.

"Why is there a pigeon here?" the fire caster asked as he arched an eyebrow, curious.

"It flew in from the window," Jacklyn said as she pointed the opened window. 'I can't say that I create the pigeon to put the white feather under Sakura tree, right?' she admitted in her thought.

"It's so tame…" Mikan stroke its white back gently. Jacklyn just smiled.

"About the assignment, we have to turn it to Jinno-sensei on Wednesday, right?" Jacklyn reminded the brunette.

Mikan stared at him in silence.

1…

2…

3…

"OH NO! I ALMOST FORGOT!!" she shouted in panic…again…

Jacklyn sweat dropped as she stared at the brunette who was running in the circle while flailing her arms at that time. "Um, they let me out from the hospital this afternoon. We can do the assignment together," she suggested, hoping that it would calm the panicked brunette.

And it surely worked.

Mikan stopped running in the circle and stared at her for a few seconds. "It sounds great! I agree!" she finally said, excited.

"But something's missing…" Jacklyn smirked as she looked at a certain raven-haired boy.

"What is it?" The brunette was curious. She followed Jacklyn's gaze to a certain direction and spotted the fire caster.

Natsume felt gazes from both of them and knew that wasn't a good thing. "What?" he asked irritatingly, his eyebrows bent down.

"That's right! A tutor!" Mikan remembered. She approached him and stopped right in front of him. "Natsume, please tutor us!" she pleaded.

"No," Natsume replied firmly.

"Please!" she pleaded once again.

Jacklyn looked at the brunette then at the crimson-eyed boy that was still holding on his answer. Feeling need to help, she opened her mouth to talk. "Natsume, I hope you can teach us. This is emergency," Jacklyn pleaded, but in a cool way. She pleaded halfheartedly.

"No," he said firmly without any hesitation or sign that he would give up.

"Natsume, pleeeaaseee!" Mikan pleaded once again. This time she used her deadly blow, puppy eyes.

And Natsume hardly could stand this.

"How about a trade?" Jacklyn suddenly suggested. Natsume looked at her as he raised an eyebrow. "You teach us and I give you one thing that you want," she offered. Actually, she wasn't too sure about what she had just said, knowing that Natsume had many reasons to accept it. Moreover, he was curious about her alice.

And like what she had expected, the crimson-eyed boy smirked and asked, "Do you mean it?"

"I mean it. But you have to tutor us this Math assignment," Jacklyn said.

Of course he would take this chance. He almost surrendered because of the puppy eyes. Fortunately, Jacklyn offered him a trade.

"Fine. 7 pm. My room. Today," he agreed.

Jacklyn raised an eyebrow and corrected, "Today and tomorrow. You said it can be done in a half day. That means 12 hours."

"Fine," he agreed, annoyed.

Mikan's lips formed a big smile. "Thanks, Natsume! You're the best!" she squealed happily as she hugged the now-blushing crimson-eyed boy.

"Let go off me, Polka! You're heavy!" he mocked her, trying to get off from her hug…and hide his blushing face from her.

"Okay! Sorry, Natsume!" she said happily as she let go off him.

"Thank you for the agreement," the black-haired girl smiled. "By the way, you two must go back now or you'll be late for the next class," she reminded the two of them.

Mikan blinked twice. "Oh no! Jacklyn-chan is right! Let's go, Natsume!" the brunette said as she dragged the fire caster out of the room, "See you later, Jacklyn-chan!"

Jacklyn just smiled as she stared at the door where the two just went out.

"I hope Natsume won't ask for hard things," she murmured as she sighed, wondering what the fire caster would ask as a trade.

--To be continued--

**Jacklyn: (Narrows her eyes) You burnt it!!**

**Natsume: (Smirks) I've told you.**

**Jacklyn: I can't believe you really did that!!**

**Natsume: I've warned you.**

**SMACK!**

**Natsume: (Annoyed) WHAT THE HELL?!**

**Jacklyn: (Puts her hands on her hips) You burnt it and I smacked you! Fair enough!**

**Natsume: (Bends his eyebrows) Now you're the one that challenged me.**

**Someone: (From far away) Hehehe…Nice…Nice…**

**Hotaru: (Appears from nowhere) Evil.**

**Someone: (Snaps her head to the blackmailer) Hotaru? When did you get here?**

**Hotaru: Shut up, freaky author. I want the payment.**

**illutia mist: Ouch. You changed the 'someone' title to my name! They'll find me!**

**Hotaru: Actually, your voice that made them find you.**

**illutia mist: (A big question mark appears on her head) Uh? Made them find me? I think your tense are wrong, Hotaru.**

**Hotaru: Are you sure?**

**illutia mist: Yup.**

**Jacklyn: No, freaky author. Her tense is perfect and right.**

**illutia mist: (Gulps and turns her head slowly to the voice's direction) Uh…Hi…(Smiles weirdly)**

**Jacklyn: (Smirks) Hello, freaky author.**

**Natsume: (Grabs illutia by the colar and drags her away) Great. Time for the punishments.**

**illutia mist: Pu-Punishments? MentS? (Emphasizing the S word)**

**Mikan & Natsume & Jacklyn: Yes. PunishmentS. (Emphasizing the S word)**

**illutia mist: NNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!**

**Hotaru: (Grins) I better join them. Anyway, thanks for reading and please review, readers. Now I have to catch up with them. (Follows the three…four persons go to a certain direction)**

**illutia mist: NNOOOOOOOO!! HOTARU!! DON'T!!**


	12. 12th Piece: Commotion of the Fan Girls

**Tap! Tap! Tap! Tap!**

**A girl with shoulder length black hair was tapping her fingers on the desk in impatience. Beside her, a brunette stood with her annoyed face while in front of her, a raven-haired boy glared at the wall.**

**Someone: Shouldn't the three of you start to search for her now?**

**The voice came from a raven-haired girl that leaned on the wall near the window, the only window in the small dim room. Her eyes were locked at a certain machine gun that lay coldly on the floor.**

**Jacklyn: (Mutters) Without knowing where she go?**

**Mikan: She can run to everywhere…**

**Natsume: (Glares at Jacklyn) Because of someone's fault.**

**Jacklyn: (Glares back at Natsume) Someone? Yeah, someone here.**

**And that triggered the silence glare contest between the two.**

**Mikan: (Rolls her eyes and sighs) How did this happen…**

**--FLASHBACK--**

**In the same room…**

**illutia mist: (Flails her arms while being dragged by Natsume) NOOOOOO!!**

**Natsume: (Covers one of his ears with his hand that's not holding illutia) YOU'RE TOO LOUD, FREAKY AUTHOR!!**

**Jacklyn: (Rolls her eyes) Good thing that I'm not the one who drags her by now.**

**Natsume: (Glares at Jacklyn) Then drag her, sketchbook girl.**

**Jacklyn: (Sticks out her tongue) You wish.**

**Natsume: You're the one that let her go at first.**

**Jacklyn: Ho? So why didn't you just ignore me and torture her like usual?**

**And the two went on with their quarrel.**

**Mikan: Not again…(Shakes her head)**

**BAMP!!**

**The sudden loud sound made the four of them (Remember Hotaru?) turn their head to the source of the sound and found the author holding a machine gun in her hands.**

**illutia mist: (Glint in her eyes) Nice…**

**--END OF FLASHBACK--**

**Hotaru: And she left these papers on the floor. (Takes out some papers from nowhere)**

**Mikan & Natsume & Jacklyn: What's that?**

**Hotaru: Read it. (Tosses the paper to Mikan's hands)**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**12th Piece: Commotion of the Fan Girls**

"Jacklyn-chan, how's the uniform?" a nurse asked as she stuck her head out from behind the just-being-opened door.

The black-haired girl turned her head to the door, facing the nurse. "Yeah, it is fit on me," she answered as she smiled.

Because her uniform had been quite ragged in the battle, Narumi gave her a new uniform that noon. And after that, the gay teacher went off to he-knew-where.

The nurse came into the room and closed the door behind her. "It's good that you have recovered now," she sighed as she smiled warmly at the girl. "When the first time Koko-kun brought you here, you were injured badly. He said something about you fought a kidnapper. Is that right?" she asked worriedly.

Jacklyn grew quiet for a while before she replied, "Sort of."

"I wonder," the nurse mumbled as she put a finger on her chin. "That kidnap things never happened in this Alice academy before. Well, there's once when Natsume-kun was been kidnapped, but it's because of the AAO…"

The last word that came out from the nurse's lips caught Jacklyn's attention. "AAO?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing." The nurse smiled at her, shrugging off the topic. "Well, you better go back to the dorm. You must have many things to do."

"…Okay…" Jacklyn said hesitantly, but she caught the nurse's strange act at that time. 'She changed the topic. What's the AAO anyway?' she thought in wonder.

"Then I excuse myself now. The other patients have been waiting," the nurse said kindly then disappeared from the door, hurriedly.

Jacklyn stared at the door, wondering at the nurse's weird behavior. She thought for a while before she took her backpack and sketchbook from the bedside table then walked to the door.

On her way to the entrance door, she thought about the AAO thing that was mentioned by the nurse earlier. But it just made her get headache.

When she turned at a corner, she caught a glimpse of a familiar person and quickly hid.

'Marika Houji?! What is she doing here?!' she thought as she turned to her back and ran, searching for a place to hide.

She ran into a girls' room and stopped there to catch her breath. After she could breathe normally, she thought of how to pass the leader of fans club without being recognized by her.

After thinking for sometime, an idea popped in her mind.

She opened her sketchbook and drew a waist length black colored wig. She touched it and the wig appeared in her hand. Without waiting any longer, she quickly put it on her head, covering her shoulder length black colored hair.

She then looked at the mirror, checking on her new looks. 'Perfect!' she thought as she smiled at her reflection. 'But I think I better add something for safety,' she thought as she opened her drawing book again, drew a glasses, and touched it. She put on the glasses and then smiled triumphantly at her reflection.

Jacklyn glanced at the mirror once again before she went out. She tidied her wig's fringe for the last time then went out from the girls' room. She walked to the entrance door again and saw Marika walking to her direction.

'Whatever. If she recognizes me, then I have to fight them again,' she thought in submission as she acted like usual and went straight to the entrance door.

Surprisingly, Marika walked passing her.

After walking quite far from Marika, Jacklyn sighed in relief. She looked at the receptionist and decided to stop by.

'Good afternoon. Um…May I ask who's Marika Houji visiting?" Jacklyn asked kindly.

The receptionist looked at her. "Marika Houji?" she asked as she looked at the visitors' book, "She wants to visit a patient named Jacklyn who's permitted to check out this afternoon."

'Whoa…That girl really has a business with me. It's a good thing that I'm in disguise,' the girl in disguise thought while smiling. "Thank you," she thanked the receptionist before she went out from the hospital.

Outside the hospital, she saw around ten girls standing near the wall. 'Fan girls?' she thought as she kept on walking. 'I hope not.'

As the girls spotted her walking out from the hospital, they murmured while their eyes followed the long black haired girl's movement.

"Are you sure?"

"With my Memory Alice, I'm very sure."

"So, the sketchbook is the same, huh."

"Yes, the burnt mark is also the same."

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go."

Jacklyn walked in silence without any worry, thinking that they're not the fan girls.

Well, not until one of them called her.

"Hey, you!" But Jacklyn wasn't too sure that they were calling her, so she kept on walking. "I called you, glasses girl!"

Thinking that it didn't harm to take a look, Jacklyn turned to face them. "Me?" she asked unsurely.

"Of course you. Who else?" the one with dark brown-haired and glasses said.

"You're also wearing the glasses," Jacklyn said stupidly.

The girl's face turned red, not because of the embarrassment but because of the anger. "Don't try to make a fool with us, Jacklyn-san," she said dangerously.

Jacklyn's eyes widened a little. 'They know?' she thought, surprised. She quickly thought of something to cover the truth. "What are you talking about? Jacklyn-san? Who's that person?" she asked while trying to calm herself.

"Your appearance maybe is different, but not your sketchbook," another girl with short black-haired sneered.

'Bull's eye,' Jacklyn thought as she smiled to the girls.

Looking at her smile, the fan girls started to feel curious. "What's with that smile?" the short black-haired one asked, irritated.

"Nothing. Bye!" Jacklyn said as she ran quickly to a random direction, not caring about the destination as long as she could get away from the fan girls.

"HEY! WAIT! DARN IT!" a girl shouted irritatingly. "Someone calls Marika! She ran away!" the other commanded. A few of them chased the fugitive.

Jacklyn didn't look back even though she heard them shout for back-up or whatever. 'Good. They have memorized my sketchbook now,' she thought as she kept on running to nowhere, 'and I'm lost again! Where is this anyway?!'

Jacklyn kept on running until she spotted a forest in front of her. Having no choice, she ran into the deep forest and quickly hid behind the trees and bushes. She could hear the footsteps that following her before suddenly stopped.

"Did she run to this way?"

"…We can't follow her then. This is a dangerous area of Northern Woods."

"Great. She'll suffer this time. Maybe she is lost or being beaten by that Teddy Bear."

The last sentence that she heard made her confused. 'Teddy Bear? Beat me?' she thought in disbelief.

"So she gets her lesson then. Let's go back to Marika."

And with that, the footsteps walked away from her position at that time. Jacklyn sighed in relief, but then she realized that she was in a big trouble now. She hardly could remember the new place that she just saw.

Shortly, she was lost.

'Great,' she thought as she rolled her eyes, annoyed.

She looked around once again. When she thought that it was already secured, she went out from her hideout. She tried to remember the way that she took when she ran inside the forest while walking, until she arrived at a wooden house.

'Maybe I can ask for the way out,' she thought as she searched for the owner of the house. "Um…Hello? Anybody there?" she called, hoping there's someone answering her call or she would get trapped in this forest forever.

Yes. FOREVER.

Suddenly, she heard a chopping sound from somewhere around the house. She followed the sound's direction and found…

…

Jacklyn couldn't believe her eyes at that time, not after she saw the view in front of her with her own eyes.

'A bear is chopping the woods?!' she thought in shock. 'Is this for real?'

The bear then turned his head to her, feeling being stared. Jacklyn stared at him, still drowning in her thought. But she was very sure that she saw a glint in his eyes at that time.

"Hello…?" she greeted, unsure that she did the right thing. But the bear didn't move, just staring back at her while holding his axe in his tiny hands. Jacklyn felt that she could read a 'don't-come-near-me' aura around him. "I just want to ask where the way out is," she said from a quite far distance.

The bear didn't give any reaction for a few seconds. Jacklyn had intended to give up and walk away when she saw him pointing to a direction. Jacklyn's eyes looked at direction that was pointed by the bear, which was leading to another sea of trees.

She looked back at the bear with a smile on her face. "Thank you," she said. The fear that she felt a few seconds ago had vanished when she saw the bear pointing the way out for her.

Jacklyn walked to the direction that was pointed by the bear. On the way, she saw a tall figure leaning on the tree.

It's a man.

He wore a blue mask that had a scratch on the right eye. His hair was silver that gradated to blue on the end of the hair. He wore a black shirt, pants and shoes. A smile plastered on his face as he saw Jacklyn there, like he had waited her for a quite long time.

"Hello, little girl," he greeted with his smile.

Jacklyn eyed him suspiciously for she didn't know the man at all. "Who are you?" she asked, full of caution.

"Don't be afraid. I'm your friend," he convinced her as he straightened himself.

Jacklyn narrowed her eyes and stared at him sharply. "Why should I believe you?"

The man chuckled at her feedback. "You have a hard personality, huh," he said, smiling. He went near her which made Jacklyn take a step back in caution. "Don't be afraid. I won't do anything to you. I just want to tell you something," he said kindly while approaching her.

Jacklyn stopped on her spot. "What?" she asked in wonder.

Seeing that he got her attention now, he approached her without hesitation. "You have a useful alice. I can help you to improve it," he offered.

"What for?" she asked again, sending a warning to him to stop there right at that time.

But he ignored it. "I saw you fight those girls two days ago at Central Town. You have impressed me. But I also saw you were quite in trouble when that girl threw those icicles to you," he told her. "I can train you so you can learn self-defense and use your alice against any attack…and you can help your friends too."

Jacklyn fell silent, thinking about his offer. '…It's true that I need to be strong to help them, especially from that fan girls. But I can't believe this guy so easily…' she thought while staring at the silver-blue haired man.

A few minutes passed by in silence before the girl finally made her decision. "I think I'll decline your offer," she said with a stern face. "I'll protect my friends in my way."

The man wasn't surprised at her refusal. Instead, he approached the girl and patted her head gently. "I respect your decision," he said. Then he took out something from his pocket.

It was a bracelet with a silver-blue gem attached on it.

"Our conversation just now is a secret. You can't tell anyone about it. This bracelet can protect your mind so no one can read what you're thinking about. Your memories are also being secured," he explained as he put on the bracelet on her right wrist. "And if you change your mind, kiss this gem. A hologram screen will appear and you can contact me."

Jacklyn eyed the bracelet on her right wrist. She was a little suspicious, but she didn't know why she let the stranger put the bracelet on her right wrist.

"By the way, no one can take off this bracelet except me. And it can't be destroyed by any alice too," he added. "And you can call me Hirai."

After she stared at the bracelet for another second, she shifted her gaze to the man. "Why are you so sure that I won't tell anyone about this and that I will change my mind?" she asked him in a confused tone.

Hirai smiled at the black-haired girl, leaving a curiosity inside her mind. "Because you're an angel," his words made her surprised. She looked at him with her wide eyes. 'He saw me,' she thought, still in her surprised state.

"See you later, little angel," he said while walking past her. "By the way, those wig and glasses are looking good on you," he added as he disappeared among the tree.

Jacklyn stared at the direction where the man had just gone then looked at the bracelet on her right wrist. She covered it with her long sleeve and proceeded her way to go out from the forest.

-x-

Mikan sighed for the umpteenth time. She was standing in front of Jacklyn's room now, waiting for the black-haired girl to show up.

'I remember she said that she would come out from the hospital this afternoon,' she thought as she looked to the left and right, hoping she saw a glimpse of the girl. Then she looked at her wristwatch.

It was 6.30 pm.

She let out a sigh. 'Is she lost again? I have checked to the hospital and they said that she has gone out since an hour ago,' she thought worriedly.

Then something popped in her mind.

'Maybe she has gone to Natsume's room! Why didn't I think of that before?' she thought again as she started to walk to the raven-haired boy's room.

-x-

"Now, where is the way to the dorm?" Jacklyn thought as she looked at the wide green field. 'It'll be easy if I use those wings, but it'll make me miss the tutor.'

She looked around and spotted a certain mind reader passing by. Wearing a wide smile on her face, she approached him. "Koko!" she called as the mentioned boy turned his head to her.

Looking at the unfamiliar figure, Koko tilted his head in confusion and asked, "Do I know you?"

At first, Jacklyn was confused at his question. Then she remembered that she was in disguise. "It's me, Jacklyn," she said.

Koko eyed her for a while then got surprised after a few seconds. "Whoa…You are different than usual. What happened?" he asked as a smile crept onto his face.

"Fan girls," Jacklyn said as she rolled her eyes.

Koko was silent for a while, looking at her with a confused expression. "Umm, are you not thinking right now? Your mind is blank," he asked hesitantly.

"Huh?" Jacklyn was confused for a second then she remembered. 'Oh, yeah. The bracelet protects me from mind-reading and I can't tell him about the conversation.' She put on a smile and said, "Yeah. Sort of."

She lied.

Hearing that, Koko sighed in relief, "I thought I have lost my alice."

"You're kidding," she said, still smiling. "By the way, I want to ask you which the way to the dorm is."

"I just want to go back to the dorm too. Why don't you come with me?" he offered.

"Sure. Why not?" Jacklyn accepted his offer and followed him going back to the dorm.

-x-

"Eh? She hasn't been here?" the brunette said shockingly.

"No," the fire caster replied simply as he stepped aside so she could come inside.

"I thought she is here…I have checked the hospital and they said she has checked out at 5.30 pm…" she muttered as she walked into the fire caster's room.

"One word. Lost," Natsume said as he closed the door.

"I should have known that. She doesn't even know your room." Mikan slumped down on the couch as she let out a sigh.

"There's a robot that can take her to my room," he said coolly as he approached the couch which was across the couch where the brunette sat down.

Mikan blinked. "You're right, Natsume," she muttered in agreement. "Then, she is lost when she want to go back to the dorm."

"I didn't say that," the raven-haired boy replied boringly, "neither I care."

At his last statement, the brunette puffed her cheeks. "Geez. Natsume, I have told you many times. She's your friend. At least you care for her."

"And I have told you many times that I never said I'm her friend," he retorted in an annoyed tone as he sat down on the couch. "Let's just get started."

"Why don't we wait for her a little longer?" Mikan suggested.

Natsume looked at her for a while then leaned on the back of the couch. "Whatever," he replied simply.

The brunette gave him a smile at his answer, glad that the boy agreed with her to wait for a certain girl. "Mmm…Hey! Let's play something!" she said excitedly.

"Play by yourself," he said as he lay on the comfortable couch.

Mikan's lips formed a pout, unpleased. "Natsume, I can't play by myself! This isn't a videogame! I need a partner!" she complained.

"Don't care," was all his reply before he closed his crimson eyes.

"Natsumeeee…" she whined with her big puppy eyes.

Too bad. Natsume didn't see it because he closed his eyes.

Mikan wasn't too pleased at his attitude. She stood up and went to the couch where the fire caster was lying on. She went to the side where his head lay on then kneeled on the floor so her face was just a few centimeters from his.

"Natsume, come on!" she pleaded again.

Hearing her voice so close to him, he opened his eyes and was wide-eyed when he found out that the brunette's face was just a few centimeters above him. He quickly regained his expressionless face and said, "No."

"Natsumeeee…" she wailed again.

This time, the fire caster had his eyes opened so he could see those big puppy eyes urging him to fulfill her favor. 'Not those puppy eyes again,' he thought as he tried his best to resist the big puppy eyes. "No," he managed to state.

"Natsumeeee…"

And Mikan kept on wailing while the raven-haired boy kept holding on to his 'no' word.

-x-

"Finally!" Jacklyn exclaimed after they arrived at the dorm. She looked at the mind reader beside her with a smile on her face. "Thank you so much, Koko!"

Koko smiled back at her. "You're welcome."

"What time is it now?" she mumbled as she looked around, hoping that she would find a clock hanging on the wall for she didn't wear her wristwatch today.

"7.10 pm," Koko replied while having his eyes on his wrist watch.

"WHAT?!" the black-haired girl was wide-eyed as she whipped her head to the mind reader in the next second. She got panicked. "Oh no! I'm late! I must go! Thanks, Koko!" she shouted while running to a random direction.

Koko stared at her running figure. "Where will she go anyway? I really can't read her mind," he muttered while freezing on his spot.

-x-

Jacklyn turned at a corner and ran again, not thinking anymore.

When she was about to turn at another corner, she stopped with a hard brake.

'I forgot that I don't know where Natsume room is!' she thought as she slapped her forehead.

She looked around, trying to find the robot that she met on her first day attending the class when she didn't know the way out from the dorm. 'Where is that robot?' she thought as she went through the corridor, hoping she would find the robot by accidentally.

She turned at a corner and saw a familiar figure with seaweed hair. 'Sumire Shouda…' she thought as she sighed. 'Might as well ask her. I'm in disguise anyway.'

And with that, she approached the president of Natsume-Ruka fans club. "Excuse me," she said kindly.

Like how mere people reacted to the nearest voice, Sumire turned to face her. "Yes?" she asked.

"I want to ask if you can show me the way to Hyuuga's room," Jacklyn smiled, trying to be kind.

At the mention of Natsume's surname, the green-haired girl's eyebrows directly bent down. "What business do you have with Natsume-kun? Are you one of the fan girls too?" she asked suspiciously.

Jacklyn rolled her eyes. 'Not again,' she thought and then said, "First, I'm not one of the fan girls. Second, I have an urgent business with him," she replied boringly.

Sumire eyed her from top to toe and toe to top, still suspicious. "You're talking like someone that I know and despise of," she said while observing her from toe to top once again. "You have the same hair color too, only yours is long."

The black-haired girl started to feel eerie, being observed up and down more than once by the green-haired girl. "Yeah, whatever. If you can't show me, can you just tell me where his room is?" Jacklyn got impatience.

"Tell me what your business with him first," Sumire said as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

"He agreed to tutor me. Now, can you-" Jacklyn was cut off when she saw someone far behind Sumire walking to their direction.

And she surely knew who that person was.

'Darn! Marika!' she thought as she quickly turned to her back and walked away. "It doesn't matter. Sorry, I have to go now!" she said to Sumire before she quickened her pace and ended running again.

The green-haired girl froze on her spot, watching the running figure's back while thinking about what the girl just said before. "Natsume-kun agreed to tutor her? She must be dreaming," she said as she went back to her own business.

"Shouda-san, as usual. You're not chasing Natsume again?" a voice interrupted the green-haired girl from continuing her business.

Knowing who the owner of the coquettish voice was, Sumire glared at the person. "How about you? I heard that you're seeking trouble with the second Imai. Who is it? Imai's sister?" she mocked back.

Marika had a frowning expression on her face. "Tch. She's not the second Imai. She is just an arrogant sketchbook girl," she said through her gritted teeth, annoyed. "She plasters my Natsume most of the time and calls him cocky boy. It's annoying."

Seeing the annoyed expression on her face, Sumire smirked. "So she annoys you now. Good news then," she teased the wavy-black haired girl, who was glaring at her.

"Don't be too big-headed just because you're in the same class with Natsume," Marika grunted. "By the way, I saw a girl with you just now. Who is she?"

Sumire turned her face a little, not looking at her. "She said she's not one of the fan girls and she asked where Natsume-kun's room is," the seaweed-haired girl answered lazily.

Marika held her chin with her right hand, thinking. "Why did she ask about his room?" she asked, wondering.

Sumire observed the girl in front of her. "Why should I tell you about this anyway?" she said to herself as she started to walk away.

Before she could walk too far, a girl, who was a member of Marika's fans club that had the memory-reading alice, touched Sumire on her shoulder.

In the next second, the girl's eyes widened as she gasped. "She's here! That sketchbook girl!" she told Marika and the others.

"WHAT?!" Marika shouted in disbelief. "Where did she go?!"

"She ran to that direction!" the girl replied as she pointed to the direction where Jacklyn ran into a few minutes ago.

"Come on! We chase her!" Marika commanded while running to the pointed direction, following by the rest of the girls.

Sumire was left dumbfounded on her spot, watching the girls running to a certain direction. "What happened just now?" she asked confusedly.

-x-

"HEY!! STOP THERE RIGHT NOW, NON-ALICE GIRL!!" Marika shouted as she chased the girl in disguise that was a few meters in front of her.

"I WON'T STOP IF THERE'S A MONSTER CHASING ME, YOU FOOL!!" Jacklyn retorted as she tried to get away from the fan girls that was chasing her at that time. 'How can they run after me that fast?! Darn it!' she whined loudly in her thought.

"HOW DARE YOU CALLED ME A MONSTER, YOU LITTLE DEVIL!! I WON'T LET YOU DISTURB MY NATSUME!" Marika shouted back and Jacklyn swore that she saw a pair of devil's horns on that wavy-black haired girl's head.

"I NEVER DISTURB THAT COCKY BOY!!" Jacklyn shouted back again, more loudly. 'Darn! Where is his room?!' she thought as she glanced at the room-id's each time she passed the doors. They had run through almost a whole dormitory and Jacklyn had started to feel exhausted.

"DON'T CALL HIM 'COCKY BOY', YOU UGLY SKETCHBOOK GIRL!!" Marika shouted with more rage.

Exhausted, Jacklyn could feel that she started to get annoyed at that time, hearing the shout from the leader of another fans club. "YOU THINK YOU'RE BEAUTIFUL?! YOU'RE KIDDING!! DARN IT!! WHERE IS YOUR ROOM, COCKY BOY?!" she shouted in annoyance.

-x-

"No," Natsume still held on his word.

"Na-tsu-me!" the brunette was still on her spot, wailing at him.

"No," he replied, irritated.

"COCKY BOY!!"

Natsume directly bent his eyebrows at the nickname. "I think I ever heard that," he murmured irritatingly.

The brunette tilted her head as she looked at the front door. "It came from outside. Why don't you check it?" she suggested.

The crimson-eyed boy grunted. He got up lazily from the couch and went to the front door. He opened it and looked around the corridor but found nothing outside there.

He was about to close the door when he saw someone turning at a corner and running to his direction.

An unfamiliar long black-haired girl.

"Finally!" that girl said while running to him. "Sorry! I'll tell you later!" she said again as she caught Natsume by the right arm, went inside his room and quickly closed the door.

"WHAT THE-" the fire caster shouted angrily but the girl quickly covered his mouth with her left hand and mouthed 'ssh' while putting a finger in front of her lips.

Natsume couldn't do anything but glared at the stranger while his mouth was still being covered by her. "If there's any girl (pant) asking about me (pant), say you didn't see me! (Pant) I'll tell you later!" she whispered as she tried to catch her breath.

Just at that time, three knocks could be heard on the door. "Oh no," the girl whined silently. "Remember (pant), say you didn't see me! (Pant)" she whispered at the raven-haired boy as she pulled back her hand from his mouth.

Natsume straightened himself and opened the door as he glared at the girl, who didn't realize being glared because she was busy catching her breath after running for a quite long time. She was like had an asthma at that time, which actually she didn't.

Natsume opened the door, only to find a certain black wavy-haired girl standing in front of him with her what-she-called sweetest smile. "Natsume, I'm sorry if I disturb you," Marika said coquettishly. "I want to ask if you see a girl with long black hair and glasses passing here just now."

The raven-haired boy twitched at the tone. He surely didn't like it.

Without any word, he banged the door close in front of her face, irritated. Behind the closed door, he stared at the girl who was still catching her breath.

"She isn't here," a muffled sound could be heard then the footsteps went away from the door.

The three waited in silence until the footsteps were gone from their hearing range. After a few seconds, Mikan approached the stranger and asked, "Are you okay?" The girl nodded. She was really exhausted.

Natsume eyed the stranger that barged into her room a few minutes ago. "Who are you anyway? Barged into people's room like that?" he asked angrily as he glared at her, annoyed.

The girl didn't answer for a few seconds until her breath came back to normal and she got her voice back. She glared back at the raven-haired boy with an annoyed face and said, "I'm sorry! I couldn't find the robot and those fan girls of you chased me!"

Hearing her answer, the brunette blinked twice then chuckled, catching the fire caster and the girl's attentions. "Um, who are you? You're talking like someone I know," Mikan asked as she smiled.

"Mikan, I'm sorry!" the girl suddenly apologized as she clasped her hands in front of the brunette. "I was lost before! Plus, the fan girls chased me!"

Mikan was surprised at the girl's sudden reaction. Confusion also engulfed her too. She was sure that she hadn't met the girl before. "Uh…You know my name?" she asked curiously.

The girl looked up at her, blinked then chuckled. "Mikan, it's me," she said between her chuckles.

"Yeah. Who?" the brunette asked as she tilted her head a little. She really didn't have any idea who the girl was.

The girl looked at Natsume, who was still glaring at her at that time. Then she poked her palm with her other hand. "Oh! That's right! I'm sorry," she said as she took off the glasses and the wig, revealing a familiar girl with shoulder length black-colored hair. "It's me, Jacklyn," she said, smiling.

Mikan's hazel orbs widened as she saw who was standing in front of her now instead of the stranger before. "Jacklyn! What's wrong with that disguise?" she asked, surprised.

"Fan girls," Jacklyn said as she rolled her eyes. "And the worst, they still recognized me."

Natsume threw a last glare at her before he turned away and walked to the couch. "Next time, learn your manner," he said nonchalantly.

Jacklyn glared at his back. "Sor-ry? You hope me to knock while I found your room by accidentally and those girls chased me?! You're kidding! I shouted through the corridor just to find your room, you know?!" she complained, absolutely annoyed.

"No, I'm not," he replied as he sat on the couch. "We better get started now, so you can get out of my room quickly."

"I'm glad you know," Jacklyn murmured irritatingly as she followed Mikan to the couch.

--To be continued--

**Mikan: This is her script. Is she really that stupid to leave it here?**

**Jacklyn: Not important. The problem is where the heck did she get that machine gun?!**

**Natsume: (Shrugs) Figures.**

**Hotaru: …Actually, it's mine.**

**And with that, the three whipped their head to the inventor.**

**Mikan & Natsume & Jacklyn: WHAT?!**

**Hotaru: Ryu bought that from me a long time ago.**

**Mikan: And why did you sell that to her?**

**Hotaru: (Money in her eyes) Nice pay. So why not?**

**The answer of hers made Mikan and Jacklyn sweat drop, while Natsume cursed with many unreadable beautiful words.**

**Natsume: (Still murmurs something that's indescribable) That author…**

**Mikan: Geez…No wonder that it's hurt when illutia used that to shot us to unconsciousness…**

**Jacklyn: (Checks the list of reviewer) No wonder that the machine gun fell at that time. This Ryu threw it to When I Met You story but it ended here.**

**Hotaru: (Rolls her eyes) I know who threw the machine gun here from that story.**

**Hearing that, Mikan, Jacklyn, and Natsume looked at her.**

**Mikan & Natsume & Jacklyn: Who?**

**Hotaru: The stupid narrator from When I Met You.**

**A cold wind passed by them for a while, leaving the silence freezing them on their spot.**

**Meanwhile…**

**illutia mist: (Somewhere) OH! DARN IT! I LEFT MY SCRIPT!! OH! AND RYU'S MACHINE GUN TOO!! **

…**What a stupid freaky author…**


	13. 13th Piece: Wishes

**BONK!**

**illutia mist: (Rubs her head) Ouch! What was that?**

**She looked around and found something on the ground. It's a bat.**

**illutia mist: (Picks the bat and observes it) What is this?**

**Then a paper fell in front of her in the next second.**

**illutia mist: (Picks up the paper) And what's this?**

_**Baka Bat from ryuamakusa4eva, with a 'thing' attached to it so it'll be attached to you wherever you go.**_

_**Great narrator**_

**illutia mist: (Snorts) …Great narrator? Who gave 'it' this title?**

**Another paper fell in front of her. She picked it up and read it.**

_**Me, freaky author.**_

**illutia mist: (A vein pops on her head) …I'll get this 'thing' one day…**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**13th Piece: Wishes**

'_Jacklyn, look! Izu got perfect score in Math!'_

'_You just got 80? You can do it better!'_

_But mom, I've studied so hard for this. Isn't 80 good enough for you?_

'_Jacklyn, Izu won the first place on the History contest!'_

'_Why didn't you get participated too?'_

_Even if I participated and won the second or third place, you two will never look at me. There's only Izu in your mind…_

"Jacklyn-chan."

_What? Don't call me now._

"Jacklyn-chan."

_I'm not in the mood._

"Jacklyn-chan."

"I SAID I'M NOT IN THE MOOD!" Jacklyn shouted as she stood up.

"Umm, sorry?" Narumi said unsurely, surprised at the girl's sudden reaction.

The black-haired girl blinked then realized that she was in class right now, and that she just fell asleep in Narumi's class. All students looked at her, except for the Ice Queen and a certain raven-haired boy with a manga on his face.

"Um…I…I'm sorry, Sensei," she apologized as she smiled. "What's wrong?"

"You're sleeping in my class," he said kindly.

"Um…yeah…I'm sorry, Sensei…" Jacklyn apologized again. She looked confused.

The blonde-haired teacher realized something strange about her. "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

"What?" she raised her head in confusion then replied, "Um, yeah, I'm alright."

Thinking that maybe she didn't want to talk about it, Narumi shrugged his curiosity off and smiled kindly at her. "I let you slip this time, but not for the next. You may sit down now."

"Thank you…Sensei…" Jacklyn said as she sat back on her seat.

She rested her elbows on the desk then put her forehead on her palms. 'Hhh…Bad dream…' she thought as she closed her eyes. 'Maybe because too much thinking of Math…Oh yeah, today is the last day of tutorial. I hope Natsume won't ask for strange thing…'

While Jacklyn tried to regain her full consciousness from the sleepy feeling that started to come over her again, someone stared at her from distance in confusion. He was Koko, who was wondering why he couldn't read the girl's mind.

-x-

Jacklyn yawned while covering her mouth with her hand. "You look extremely tired," Anna said as she stared at the black-haired girl.

It was lunchtime now. Jacklyn, Anna, and Nonoko were on their way to the cafeteria. Mikan didn't join them for she followed Hotaru to her lab while Natsume and Ruka went to nowhere after the class was over.

"Yeah, I didn't get enough sleep last night. It's because of the Math assignment," Jacklyn replied as a smile crept onto her face.

"So, have you finished it?" Nonoko asked.

"No. there's still less than half that I haven't done," Jacklyn told them.

At the entrance to the cafeteria, Jacklyn suddenly stopped. Anna and Nonoko looked at her in confusion, wondering why the girl suddenly stopped. "What's wrong?" they asked in unison.

"I remember that I have something to do. I'll see you later," Jacklyn said as she walked backward and waved at both of them. Then she turned and ran away, leaving a question to both of them. 'What's that something to do?'

Jacklyn took out her pen from her pocket and opened her sketchbook while running through the corridor. She drew a white feather on the empty page in her sketchbook then touched it. In the next second, she could feel the soft white feather in her hand. She quickly slipped the feather and pen to her pocket and closed her sketchbook.

She lifted her head, shifting her gaze to the direction that she headed. And in a few minutes, she finally arrived at her destination, the Sakura tree.

She looked around, making sure that no one was there. She looked up to the branch and found a big trouble there.

Natsume.

'Great! He's here. Now, how am I going to place the feather here?' she thought annoyingly, her eyebrows were bent down. She decided to sit down under the Sakura tree and slowly took the feather out from her pocket when…

"What are you doing?" Natsume's sudden question made her cancel her action and put the feather back in her pocket.

Jacklyn looked up to meet with Natsume's figure on the branch that didn't even look at her. "Oh, it's you," she said, pretending to not knowing about his presence there. "I'm just sitting here. What? Got a problem with that?"

"You disturbed me," he answered simply.

She bent her eyebrows again at his answer. "Hel-lo? I didn't say anything until you asked me. You must be glad that I didn't kick the tree right now," she retorted in irritation.

"Your presence disturbed me," he stated coldly.

Hearing this, a vein popped on the girl's head. "What's wrong with you anyway? This is a public place. So it's okay for me if I want to rest here for some time," she retorted in a more annoyed tone.

"Whatever. Now, shut up or I'll burn your sketchbook again," he threatened without looking at her.

Jacklyn narrowed her eyes at the figure that was lying on the branch. 'Cocky boy!' she thought as she stuck out her tongue at him. She sighed and leaned her back on the trunk, staring at the view in front of her. She saw a few students playing on the field, chasing each other. 'What a calm day…'

After silence engulfed them for some time, Jacklyn slowly took out the feather from her pocket and placed it beside her, hidden from Natsume's sight. She let out a smile before she finally stood up and took a step forward.

Before she left the place, she looked at the raven-haired boy for the last time. "I'm going back now! You better think about what you want for later!" Then she turned and went back to the cafeteria.

Natsume took the manga off from his face and glanced at her running figure. He then remembered about the deal after the girl told him just a few seconds ago. 'Today is the last tutorial, huh,' he thought when his crimson-eyes suddenly saw a small figure running to his direction. 'Youichi?'

Youichi ran to the Sakura tree and directly observed the ground where the tree was, searching for something. A smile escaped from his lips as he found the thing that he had been looking for and bent down to take it.

It's a white feather.

Wondering what the little boy was doing down there, the raven-haired boy decided to call him, "Youichi?"

Like what normal people would do if there's someone calling them, Youichi looked up to the voice's direction and smiled when he saw who called him. "Onii-chan!"

Natsume sat up on the branch as he looked down at the little boy. He directly spotted something in his tiny hand. "What's that?" he asked Youichi, referring to the white thing in his hand.

Youichi was confused at first, but then he realized and looked at his right hand that was holding the white soft thing. "Ah, this?" he asked back as he waved the white feather in his hand at the fire caster. "This is white feather. I ever told you about Miss Angel that promised me to give me a white feather everyday at lunchtime, right?"

"Hn," Natsume responded as he remembered the time when he met the injured angel.

"I'm glad that she's okay. She was injured badly the last time I met her," the gray-haired boy said as he stroke the feather gently.

"NATSUME! YOU-CHAN!" a cheery voice called both of them. Natsume rolled his eyes after hearing the sound, knowing who that was, and muttered, "Not again…"

A brunette ran to their direction with her famous bright smile. She went near them and spotted something in Youichi's hand. "You-chan, what is that?" she asked as she pointed the white feather in his hand.

"A white feather. Miss Angel dropped this for me," the little boy answered her question.

Mikan tilted her head in confusion for a while, then her face turned bright again as she remembered something. "Oh! The angel that appeared several days ago? I saw her from the classroom," she said happily. "So, her name is Miss Angel?"

Youichi shook his head. "I don't know. I call her Miss Angel," he said with his expressionless face.

"Is that so?" the brunette muttered. Youichi gave a silent nod as a response. "Oh…" was all that she could say.

"I have finished my business here, so I'll be going now," the little boy said as he turned to his back.

But before he could move an inch from that place, the brunette stopped him, "Wait!" Youichi turned his head to her, seeing her wearing a smile on her face as she asked, "Have you had your lunch?"

"Not yet. Why?" he asked back, wondering why the brunette asked him about that.

"Actually, I made some cookies last night. Do you want some?" she offered as she took out an orange-colored container. Youichi nodded and approached the brunette. Mikan looked up and smiled at the raven-haired boy. "Want to join us?" she asked.

Natsume raised an eyebrow before he decided to tease her, "Is it poisonous, Polka-dots?"

The brunette pouted, absolutely unpleased with his teasing. "Of course not, pervert!" she replied irritatingly.

At her response, the fire caster just smirked and asked, "Are you sure?"

"It's safe, Onii-chan," Youichi convinced him as he took another bite from the cookie in his hand, "and it's improving a bit too."

Natsume jumped off from the branch and landed gracefully on the ground. "I pass," he said as he walked away.

"Natsume! Wait! Don't you want to taste it?" Mikan said as she chased the raven-haired boy.

"No," he replied nonchalantly without looking at her.

"It tastes good. Really," she tried to convince him.

"No."

"Come on."

"No."

"Please…"

"No."

Feeling a little desperate, Mikan grew quiet and thought for a while. "Natsume! Look at this!" she suddenly shouted, sounding excited.

The fire caster turned his head to her in annoyance as he said, "Wha-" But cut off when the brunette quickly shoved something inside his mouth. He tasted it. _'Sweet…'_

It's one of the cookies that she made.

"How is it?" the brunette asked with a bright smile, drawing his attention to her.

"Not bad…" he muttered. "…for a stupid little girl like you," he added as he smirked.

Mikan pouted again after hearing the last sentence. "I'm not stupid," she muttered as she bit the cookie in her hand.

Natsume lifted his hand and took a little piece from the cookie that she bit. He shoved it into his mouth and smirked. "You're always the same stupid little girl," he said before he walked away.

The brunette froze on her spot. "I'm not stupid, pervert," she murmured as her lips curved into a sweet smile. "At least, you ate it."

-x-

"Jacklyn-chan."

The aforementioned girl turned to see the person who was calling her. "Yes?" she responded. She saw Narumi in front of the door to a class. He waved his hand at her, signaling her to come near him.

As what he told her with his gesture, Jacklyn approached him. "What's wrong, Sensei?" she asked.

The blonde teacher smiled and said, "Give me your hand."

Jacklyn eyed him in wonder for a while before she finally obeyed him and gave him her right hand. Narumi brought his right hand on top of her palm then dropped something on it. Jacklyn stared at the thing that was just dropped by the teacher on her palm.

It's a small star.

She then looked at Narumi, confused. "What is this?" she asked.

Narumi still had a smile on his face when he heard his student's question. "After that kidnapping incident, we decided that you're a one-star now," he replied happily.

Jacklyn stared at him for a while then bent her head down. "Um…I don't think I deserve this…" she said, a little sad.

Narumi looked at her with a confused expression. "Why?" he asked.

"I feel that I'm weak, so I was injured at the battle. Besides…" she paused. 'Besides, it's not a stranger. It's the fan girls…' she continued in her thought.

Watching the suddenly-went-silent girl, Narumi started to wonder what the continuation from her sentence was. "Besides what?" he asked after he felt that the girl wouldn't continue her sentence.

"…I was the one who caused her to be kidnapped…I let her go alone…" she muttered sadly.

Hearing her statement, the blonde man sighed and smiled. "It's not your fault. You didn't know that she would be kidnapped. You have tried your best to save her," he tried to cheer up the sad girl.

"…I'm sorry…I told you not to tell the other students about my alice. It must be hard for you to cover the story…" Jacklyn apologized as she kept her head bent down, feeling guilty.

"It's fine. You want to keep it to yourself, right?" he said.

Jacklyn looked up, facing him. "Koko, Mikan, Misaki-sempai, and Tsubasa-sempai have already known about my alice," she said. "But only you and Koko that know I'm an angel," she added in a low voice, almost whispering.

Narumi couldn't stop smiling as he heard this, but then something bothered him. "Talking about Koko, he told me that he couldn't read your mind since yesterday," he said. "He thought his alice has been gone, but he could read the other students' minds, except for Mikan of course."

Jacklyn grew quiet for a while. She knew why the mind reader couldn't read her mind, but yet, she couldn't let them know about it. "He couldn't read my mind?" she asked innocently, pretending that she didn't know the cause. Narumi just nodded as the answer. 'He told Sensei…If I'm not wrong, he ever said that Sensei's alice is human pheromone alice. What if Sensei uses his alice on me? He'll know everything!" she thought in panic while trying to stay calm on the surface.

In the next second, Narumi's smile was gone, only the seriousness that was remained on his face at that time. "Jacklyn-chan, are you hiding something from me?" he asked curiously.

"I don't think so," Jacklyn replied quickly.

"Really?" he asked again, not too sure at her answer. Jacklyn nodded as she gave him a reassuring smile. The teacher couldn't help but smile back at her. He believed in her. "Okay. Now, take your star and you're dismissed."

"Thank you, Sensei," the black-haired girl bowed a little then proceeded her way to the next class.

Narumi stared at her retreating figure while drowning in his thought, 'Strange…I have used my human pheromone alice, but she wasn't affected. Does she have nullification alice too?"

-x-

"So, if we use this formula then…" Mikan mumbled as she concentrated on her Math assignment. "GOT IT! FINISHED! FINALLY!!" she suddenly squealed happily.

"Congratulations, Mikan." Jacklyn clapped her hands as she smiled at the brunette.

"Eh? You have finished it too?" Mikan asked the black-haired girl.

"Five minutes faster than you," Jacklyn replied simply.

"Then congratulations for both of us!" the brunette chirped happily as she threw her arms up.

The fire caster looked at them with a bored face, thinking that the two were weird. "Whatever," he said. "Now, the deal."

Jacklyn rolled her eyes at this, knowing that he would ask for it. She let out a sigh and asked, "Yeah. What do you want? Just one thing."

"Answer my question," he said without any hesitation.

"Okay, but only one question," she confirmed.

Natsume directly arched an eyebrow at her statement. "Just one?" he asked, sounding unpleased.

"One," Jacklyn repeated firmly.

"What's your alice?" he asked directly to the point. The brunette looked at him and then at Jacklyn, wondering what her answer would be.

The black-haired girl raised an eyebrow at his question. "Are you sure you want me to answer that? You better ask for another thing than that," she suggested, hoping that the boy would just agree with her suggestion. She really didn't want to tell him her alice. Well, for a reason.

As if he read her mind, he put on his stern face and said, "Fine. Who did you fight in the kidnapping incident several days ago?"

"Still a question?" Jacklyn asked, hoping that he would change his wish for the second time.

But to no avail, Natsume got even more curious. "What? Are you hiding something?"

'Yes, cocky boy!' she thought as she bent her eyebrows in annoyance. "Fine…Are you sure?" she asked again, still not losing hope.

This time, the fire caster glared at her, and Jacklyn knew that it meant he was serious at that time.

She buried her face in her palms, preparing her mental while wondering she should let him know or just lie to him. But she couldn't keep this secret longer, especially from him. She lifted her head and took a deep breath before she finally answered in a low voice, "…Fan girls…"

But then, it's enough for Natsume to hear.

He raised an eyebrow, finally getting the answer that he had been waiting for. His prediction was right all this time. "So, Koko's lying," he said in a dangerous tone, remembering that the fan girls were the one that kidnapped Mikan and maybe tried to hurt the brunette.

"I'm the one who told him not to tell anyone about that," Jacklyn defended the mind reader. "It's my fault after all…" she added as she glanced at a certain brunette beside her then muttered, "I'm sorry, Mikan. I have involved you in this problem."

The brunette looked at her, spotting the sad expression on her face. "So, that's why Koko said you told him to say that you're sorry to me?" Mikan asked.

"Yes, I'm very sorry," Jacklyn said, bending down her head in guilty. "…Don't tell about this to anyone, even teachers," she added as she took her bag and sketchbook from the table then stood up. She looked at the crimson-eyed boy and smiled. "Thank you for the tutorial, Natsume." After that, she walked to the door, planning to get out from the room right at that time.

When Jacklyn arrived at the door, Mikan stood up and stopped her, "Jacklyn-chan."

And she did stop.

"…Sorry, Mikan. Maybe you shouldn't come near me again…" she said without looking at the brunette, "Good night." She opened the door and disappeared behind it.

Mikan froze on her spot, staring at the door which Jacklyn just closed. "Why…?" she muttered. "It's not your fault…"

The brunette clenched her fist and was about to catch up with Jacklyn when a hand suddenly grabbed her wrist, stopping her from moving further. She turned around to face the owner of the hand. "Natsume…" she murmured.

"Leave her alone for now," he said as he locked his eyes with hers.

Following his suggestion, the brunette slumped back on the couch. "It's not her fault…She has tried to save me…" she said with a gloomy face.

Natsume fell quiet as he watched the brunette drown in her thought. "She thinks it's her fault because the fan girls kidnapped you just to get her," he explained shortly.

Mikan moved her gaze to the fire caster in front of him. "So, what should we do?" she asked, hoping for an advice from him.

But to her dismay, the boy just shrugged. "How do I know? I don't really care anyway," he replied nonchalantly. He thought the brunette would make a pout again on her face, saying that the sketchbook girl is his friend and they would have a debate about it again.

But not this time.

Mikan was just silent as she looked at her lap. "I want to help her…" she murmured. Her face showed that she was thinking hard. After a few minutes, she came up with an idea as she clasped her hands in front of her. "I'll try to talk to her tomorrow."

"Whatever," was Natsume's simple reply.

-x-

"Hey, I just told my first friends to stay away from me tonight," Jacklyn said to no one.

She was in her room at that time. After changing to her orange-colored pajamas, she sat on the chair and stared at her opened sketchbook on the table. The last page was opened widely on it, showing the drawing of a boy with orange-colored hair and a pair of blue eyes.

"What a good friend I am. After they're so kind to me…I leave them…" she said sarcastically, referring to herself. "But I want to protect them…and this is my way to protect them…Maybe I should avoid the others too…" she added with a sad look on her face.

Jacklyn rested her chin on the table and glanced at the boy in the drawing. "If the others see me talking to a drawing, maybe they'll think I'm insane," she chuckled. "But sometimes it's good for me, to think that I can't tell this to anyone. You know why I don't tell anyone about the fan girls attacked us? I don't want them to be punished severely by the teachers."

She was quiet for a while then sighed. "I'm really a strange person. Why must I protect them when they have bullied me like that?" she murmured, annoyed.

Then the answer suddenly came out in her thought. "Or maybe because I want to make them payback by myself?" she said as a grin graced her lips. "Maybe the statement that saying we have both angel and evil in ourselves is true."

Shifting from her early position, she tilted her head a little, resting her cheek on the table. "I hope I can make you alive, you know. But what the fun of it when it will just last for twenty four hours?" she said in an upset tone.

Staring at the moonlight that shone in the dark sky from her window, Jacklyn straightened herself on the chair and shifted her gaze back to the drawing again. "Thank you for hearing me out all this time," she smiled, "You're my secret 'very' best friend."

She torn the paper from her sketchbook and slipped it into a drawer at the table. "I'll talk to you again later. Good night," she murmured before she closed the drawer and then her sketchbook.

After staring at the night sky for the last time, she climbed onto her bed and lay on it. She stared at the ceiling in silence, thinking what had happened in these few days. "I hope I can go through the next day smoothly…" was the last sentence she said before she closed her eyes and drifted to sleep.

--To be continued--

**illutia mist: (Swings the Baka Bat and sings an unclear song) Nice day, nice day. They won't find me here…**

**Someone: Who won't find you here?**

**illutia mist: Of course (Turns her head to the voice's direction) th-EM?! (Eyes widen)**

**What she saw was Mikan, Jacklyn and Hotaru behind her, with Natsume holding the top part of her Baka Bat.**

**illutia mist: (Speechless) Ah…**

**Jacklyn: (Smirks) Got you, freaky author.**

**illutia quickly got up and planned to run from there quickly. But something prevented her from that…**

**illutia mist: (Flails her arms desperately) Darn! What happened to me?? Why I'm just running on my place??**

**Hotaru: It's because of that Baka Bat, dummy.**

**Mikan & Jacklyn & Natsume & illutia: (Turns their head to the inventor) Eh?**

**Hotaru: I gave it to Bourne.**

**Mikan & Jacklyn & Natsume & illutia: Who's Bourne?**

**Hotaru: The original character by ryuamakusa4eva.**

**Mikan & Jacklyn & Natsume: (Points to illutia) So why does she have it?**

**Hotaru: (Shrugs) Figures. That author must have stolen it from Bourne.**

**Natsume: (Rolls his eyes) Whatever. (Smirks at illutia) At least this thing is helpful.**

**illutia mist: (Mutters) Oh no…**

**And with that, illutia was being dragged by the four to the torturing place again.**

**illutia mist: HHHEEEEEEEELLLLLLLLPPPPPPPPP!!**

**Mikan & Jacklyn & Natsume & Hotaru: SHUT UP, FREAKY AUTHOR!**


	14. 14th Piece: Getting Worse

**illutia mist: (Flails her arms brutally) NOOO!!**

**Natsume: (Annoyed) Can you shut up for a while? You're noisy.**

**illutia mist: (Glares at Natsume) You're evil…**

**Natsume: (Smirks) Say what you like, freaky author. You're already doomed.**

**Jacklyn: (Irritated) Can't you two be quiet?**

**illutia mist: CAN'T!!**

**Natsume: She's the one that can't be quiet.**

**Jacklyn: Then make her quiet.**

**Natsume: Who do you think you are? Command me like that?**

**Jacklyn: You're the one who's dragging her now.**

**Natsume: (Bends his eyebrows in annoyance) Then drag her by yourself.**

**Jacklyn: (Rolls her eyes) Think of it, cocky boy. You're a boy and I'm a girl.**

**Natsume: (Glares at Jacklyn) I think I need to burn you right now.**

**Mikan: That's enough! Can't all of you quiet?!**

**Jacklyn & Natsume & illutia: CAN'T!!**

**Mikan: Uh…fine…**

**Hotaru: Idiots…**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**14th Piece: Getting Worse**

RIING! KLAK!

Jacklyn sat up on her bed while her hand was on top of the alarm clock on the bedside table. She just turned it off at the first ring. She glanced at the alarm clock, checking what time it was.

It was 5 am.

She heaved a sigh then quickly got off from the bed and went to her bathroom to do her morning routine.

She approached the sink and spun the faucet, feeling the cold water on her hands before she splashed it onto her face. Lifting her head to face the mirror, she saw a girl with a shoulder-length black hair staring back at her with a stoic face.

'Pathetic,' she thought.

She still remembered what she did yesterday. She told the fire caster and the nullifier to stay out from her, for she was afraid that the fan girls would involve them, especially the brunette. She also woke up at 5 am by intentionally to avoid the brunette, who recently always came to her room in the morning.

Jacklyn stared at her reflection for a few seconds, before she finally shrugged the topic off from her mind and continued doing her morning routine, brushing her teeth then taking a bath.

It took her thirty minutes to finish cleaning herself. It was because she often spaced out in the process, taking more time than it should be.

The clock stroke right at 5.30 am.

Jacklyn decided to take a walk outside the dormitory. She wore her uniform and then took her bag and sketchbook. She locked her room and went out from the dormitory.

Outside the dormitory, she stopped to think. 'Now, where should I go first?' she thought as she looked around. 'If I go to the Sakura tree…it will be too risky…' she thought hard. 'Maybe I'll just take a walk to the Northern Woods.'

And with that decision, Jacklyn skipped her feet to the Northern Woods.

Thirty minutes later, she finally arrived at the forbidden woods. Well, she was almost lost on the way, but she had memorized the route little by little. 'I think I remember the way a little now. If I'm from the dormitory, I use this path. If I'm from the hospital, I use the other way,' she thought as she looked at the woods.

RUSTLE! RUSTLE!

The black-haired girl whipped her head to the direction of the sound in surprise. 'What was that?' she thought curiously. 'Is it just my imagination?'

RUSTLE! RUSTLE!

Jacklyn observed the trees and bushes, trying to find the source of the sound. Curiosity had engulfed her mind at that time.

After two minutes searching, she caught a glimpse of a figure leaning on the trunk of a tree. She approached the figure, who was wearing boy's uniform and a cat mask. But what made her more surprised was the blood that stained the person's white undershirt.

"Oh my God! Are you alright?!" she asked as she quickly approached the figure. The figure looked at her in surprise and tried to stand up, but failed. Jacklyn knelt beside the stranger and looked at the wound that was covered by the tainted-red shirt. Seeing the wound, she could guess where the injured part was. "You got injured badly near the flank part! We must go to the hospital quickly!" she said while staring at the red color that started to spread wider.

Instead of agreeing with her, the person didn't move or even look at her. "What are you doing here? Just go away!" the person said in a muffled voice.

Jacklyn lifted her head to face the person. She couldn't see the person's face, for a cat-shaped mask covered it. But the boyish voice and its arrogant tone were so familiar on her ears, even though it was heard a bit muffled because of the mask.

As she looked at him a little longer, she spotted his raven-colored hair. It didn't take a long time when something, or rather, someone suddenly showed up in her mind. "…Natsume?" she guessed.

The person grunted in irritation. "I told you to go away," he said.

Jacklyn arched an eyebrow at his annoyed reaction. "Are you kidding?! How can I leave an injured person here? I'll help you to go to the hospital!" she said as she extended her hand.

But you know Natsume. He won't accept it.

"This is nothing. Mind your own business," he said nonchalantly, his breath turned heavier. The blood kept flowing out, staining more of his white undershirt with its red color.

Jacklyn stared at the bleeding-badly wound and twitched her eyebrows at the terrible sight. "Oh! Darn it! At least it should be treated! The bleeding hasn't stopped!" she scolded him in impatience.

"I said this is nothing!" the raven-haired boy insisted, angry tone could be heard in his sentence.

And his rock-headed made the black-haired girl twisted her brain, thinking of how she could give him the first aid. After a few seconds thinking, something came up in her mind. "Hey, can you bandage your own wound? Because I can't bandage this type of wound," she asked worriedly while keeping her gaze at the bleeding part.

Natsume let out a deep growl because of the wound before he replied, "I can. But there's no first aid kit here." He got irritated because the black-haired girl still didn't go away.

"Then wait here for a while," Jacklyn said as she ran to a big tree and hid behind it.

Behind the tree, she took her pen from her pocket and opened her sketchbook. She drew a box of first aid kit with the content inside the box. She put back her pen in her pocket and touched the newest drawing. And in the next second, a box of first aid kit appeared in her hand.

Jacklyn quickly ran back to the place where Natsume was. She knelt down beside him once again and handed the first aid box to him. "You can use this," she said firmly.

Natsume looked at the first aid box then at her. "Where did you get this that fast?" he asked, curious. It was impossible for her to run back to the dormitory and go to his place again just within the short time. He needed an explanation for this.

"No time for that question! You better treat your wound now! And after that, we'll go to the hospital!" Jacklyn told him impatiently, getting worrier in every second that passed by without any care. She was aware that he could die because of blood loss if he didn't treat the wound quickly.

The fire caster stayed still for a few seconds, unsure. Then he finally took the first aid box from her and opened it. Surprisingly to him, the content of the box was complete.

Without waiting for another minute again, he lifted his upper uniform until her chest, showing a very bad and deep wound near the flank part. It was bleeding badly. Fresh blood still came out from the wound. Jacklyn winced at this sight. It was just too much for her. She decided to look at the other direction; anything but him.

After more less twenty minutes passed by, Jacklyn was certain that it had been safe enough to look back. She shifted her gaze back to the injured boy and found out that he had finished bandaging his wound. She let out a glad sigh, knowing that the situation had been better for temporary. But then she spotted a bandage on his right leg too, making her realize that he also got injured at the part. "Great. We better go to the hospital now. Can you stand up?" she asked, showing that she was concerned. Well, a little.

"It has been bandaged now. There's no need to go to the hospital again," he said as he tried to stand up by supporting his hand on the tree trunk.

"No! We have to go to the hospital! The bandages will just last for twenty four hours! We have to treat your wounds properly!" she insisted. Yeah, she couldn't let him get shocked on the next day, wondering why the wounds were opened and where the bandages had gone to.

Natsume stared at her in bewilderment and suspicion. "What does it mean by 'just last for twenty four hours'?" he asked.

"The bandages will disappear after twenty four hours! And your wounds will be opened again! Now we go to the hospital! And quick!" she explained irritatingly. She was getting impatient at his luring-time question.

Without waiting for his permission again, Jacklyn took his right arm and put it around her shoulder while her left hand was around his waist, trying to support him. "Ugh! You're so heavy! Why are the boys heavier than the girls?!" she wailed as she took a few steps forward.

"Told you. You better mind your own business," the raven-haired boy muttered irritatingly.

Jacklyn could feel a thin thread of patience that she had at that time was broken after he said that. She couldn't believe that the arrogant fire caster still tried to send her away while she knew he was wounded badly. "I don't have any business now! Satisfied?" she retorted in annoyance while dragging him out of the Northern Woods.

As they were out of the woods, she looked around as she thought, 'Let me remember…The way to the hospital…' She looked at her right then left. And after thinking for some time, she decided to take the left path. 'I think this is the way,' she thought as she dragged Natsume to the left direction.

"Hey, where do you think you're going?" the raven-haired boy suddenly asked before they went too far from the place.

"Hospital," Jacklyn replied simply, concentrating on holding Natsume's weight on her shoulders.

"This isn't the way to hospital, sketchbook girl. It's on that way," he said as he pointed to the opposite direction. Jacklyn froze as she looked at the pointed direction. "How can you still lost in this critical moment?" he asked, annoyed.

Hearing his complain, the black-haired girl made a frown on her face. "Sor-ry! I just finally could remember the way when you suddenly showed up in that bloody costume! Of course I forgot again! I'm panicked, you know!" she excused while turning to the pointed direction. This time, it's a right one.

'She's almost like Polka, except for the 'lost' part,' Natsume thought as he rolled his eyes behind the mask. 'Oh, yeah, plus, Polka is good at bandaging wound.'

"What did you do anyway? And what's with that funny mask? Don't tell me that you just engaged in a gang fight with the other students' gang!" Jacklyn said while panting because she dragged Natsume, who technically was heavy because he was a boy.

"I have no interest in that kind of fight," he answered shortly.

"So?" she asked again while concentrating on dragging him.

"Why must I tell you?" He started to feel annoyed again.

And his retort got the attention from the girl. Jackly turned to look at him. "What? Is it a secret?" she asked as curiosity engulfed her.

"Not really," was his response.

"Then tell me!"

"Won't."

"Why?"

"You better shut up or I burn your sketchbook again," Natsume said in annoyance as a fire appeared on his left hand.

Jacklyn raised an eyebrow as she looked at the fire then at him. "You can't. My sketchbook is on the hand that is holding your waist by now. You'll burn your own body," she retorted calmly.

"Tch." He looked away, absolutely annoyed. The fire on his left hand extinguished.

Jacklyn narrowed her eyes, feeling irritated because Natsume didn't tell her what had happened that caused him to get those wounds. But somehow, Mikan's face flashed in her mind.

'_Like Natsume…He is told to do some missions. I don't know what the missions are. But sometimes, he comes back in bad condition.'_

After the recall, she fell silent for a few seconds while staring at the bandaged wound. "So…this is because of the mission?" she suddenly asked, surprising the fire caster.

"What?" he asked back, curious because the girl knew about those missions thing. "Who told you?"

Jacklyn glanced at the curious boy. "I won't tell you," she said as she stuck out her tongue at him.

Behind the mask, he raised an eyebrow at her attitude. "Should I burn your hair?" he threatened as a small fire appeared on his left palm once again. Seeing the fire, the brunette's face appeared in her mind again.

'_Moreover, his alice is eating his lifespan every time he uses it.'_

'Eating his lifespan…' she thought, focusing her eyes on the fire in his left palm. "Can you not use your alice now? You're wounded," she reminded him.

"I'm wounded doesn't mean I can't use my alice," he retorted.

'What an arrogant jerk.' Jacklyn rolled her eyes. "You're lucky that I don't have nullification alice," she muttered.

After thirty minutes walking while debating, they finally arrived at the hospital. Jacklyn let the nurses and doctor handle Natsume's wounds while she waited at the lobby. Of course, she was a little worried about him.

No.

Not only him.

Who wouldn't get worried if they saw an injured person in front of them?

That was what she kept in her mind while waiting for someone telling her about his condition.

After waiting for approximately fifteen minutes, no one came to inform her about the lad's condition, so she decided to ask a nurse. Her eyes caught a nurse walking to her direction at that time.

This was her chance.

She stood up and approached the nurse. "Um, sorry, I want to ask about a patient, namely Natsume," she said politely.

The nurse smiled kindly at her as she said, "Oh, you're Natsume's friend, right? He's in the room 152."

"Thank you," Jacklyn thanked her with a smile. She planned on getting out from the place quickly after visiting him. She didn't want to be seen by any fan girl in that place, especially if they found out that she was with him.

But fate always tells the opposite.

When she was about to go to the fire caster's room, a familiar coquettish voice called her from behind. "My, my. If it isn't the non-alice girl."

Jacklyn turned to her back and saw Marika with a few of fan girls trailing behind her. 'Geez. Why did I always meet her this whole week?' she thought as she rolled her eyes. "What are you doing here?" she managed to ask, an unpleased tone could be heard in her sentence.

"What am I doing here?" Marika repeated as she flipped her wavy-black hair back. "A friend of mine said that she saw Natsume being dragged to the hospital by a girl a few minutes ago. That's why I came here," she said while eyeing the girl in front of her from toe to top. "Don't tell me it was you," she added as she shot a glare at Jacklyn.

Jacklyn formed her lips into a smirk. "What if it was ME?" she emphasized the 'me' word. Hearing that, Marika had a frowning expression on her face. She looked like she wanted to eat someone right at that time. Jacklyn knew it meant danger and she already thought of a way to escape from their wrath.

She made a big smile on her face, which made all of the fan girls, including Marika, confused. "AH! HELLO, RUKA!!" she shouted happily as she pointed a finger to the hospital's entrance that was behind the fan girls.

Instinctively, Marika and the fan girls turned their head around to the entrance with their happy faces, ready to greet the blonde-haired boy.

But he's not there, not even his white rabbit.

They turned their head back again, ready to 'eat' the girl that had tricked them.

But she was also nowhere to be seen.

Marika's face turned red. Anger had engulfed her mind completely. She couldn't believe the girls that she despised so much had tricked her at that time. "We must get that non-alice girl! She must be still in this hospital!" she told her members and they started to search for the what-they-called non-alice girl.

Meanwhile, the target was running through the hospital corridor, looking at the rooms' number plats.

'145…146…147…148…149…' she thought as she kept running. '152! Got it!' she let out a sigh when she finally found her destination. She quickly went into the room and closed it.

"You barged in again. When will you learn your manner?" a familiar conceited voice growled from the bed's direction.

And as all of you know, it's Natsume.

His mask had been taken off, revealing a pair of his crimson orbs that was staring at the girl in annoyance.

Jacklyn put her index finger in front of her lips while standing behind the door. Natsume arched an eyebrow, wondering at the girl's silent message. Ignoring his confused expression, she put her right ear on the door, trying to listen to the sounds outside the room. She could hear a few of footsteps passing the room quickly.

And no other possibility crossed in her mind, it must be Marika and her gang.

After a few seconds passed by, the footsteps were gone. Jacklyn sighed in relief. At least, she was safe there. She wasn't sure until when though.

She turned away from the door and approached the raven-haired boy that was sitting on the bed in silence. "How are you feeling?" she asked as she stopped just beside the bed.

At first, the fire caster just remained silent. Jacklyn raised an eyebrow at his silence action. "As usual," he finally replied, nonchalantly. "What are you doing? Barging into people's room like that," he asked, feeling annoyed, "again."

The last word made the black-haired girl bend her eyebrows. "I don't want to. The fan girls chased me, cocky boy," she retorted in irritation.

"Great. They're here too," he got more annoyed. She knew it from his wrinkled eyebrows.

"Not that I want to meet them either," Jacklyn muttered. Then later, she asked, "By the way, have they changed the bandages?"

Natsume leaned his back on the headboard of the bed and answered, "It's obvious, sketchbook girl."

"Good." She let out a sigh as she smiled a little. One problem had been finished.

…At least that was what she thought at that time.

The crimson-eyed lad looked at her with curiosity. "Hey, why did you say that the bandage will be gone after twenty four hours before?" he suddenly asked.

Jacklyn blinked. "Because that's the way how the thing works," she answered with a confusing sentence.

Natsume cocked an eyebrow, knowing that the girl must be hiding something. "Spill it out," he said impatiently.

However, Jacklyn didn't want to give up and spill all out that easily. "What?" she asked as she tilted her head a little.

His impatience got thinner in every second. "You. Know."

"No, I don't," she retorted, which was heard as a challenge for him.

So, there he goes…

"NATSUME!! PUT IT OUT!! PUT THE FIRE OUT!!" the black-haired girl shouted when a fire appeared at the corner of her sketchbook.

Seeing her reaction, a smirk appeared on his good-looking face. "Tell me first."

Jacklyn glared at him, having the urge to knock him out at that time. "No!" she declined as she launched her right hand that had formed into a fist at him, right on his face.

But unlucky for her, she lost her balance, causing her to fall flatly on his lap on the bed. She grunted in annoyance, "Oh! Darn it!"

"Oi. Are you going to get up or not?" Natsume asked in a half-infuriated tone, absolutely not liking the awkward position at that time.

"Why did this sentence sound so familiar?" Jacklyn grunted as she tried to get off from his lap.

Just then, the door opened. "Natsume, I heard you-" The familiar coquettish voice stopped when the owner of the voice looked at the view in front of her.

Her jaw dropped.

Jacklyn, who tried to get off from Natsume's lap, froze on her way. In Marika's eyes, it looked like she was the one who hopped onto the bed. The fire caster remained expressionless.

And in Jacklyn's eyes, it was bad.

Very, very bad.

The problem was…

It wasn't just Marika who went into the room without knocking first. There were a few of the fan girls that followed her into the room too.

'Fortune Goddess, this is so unfair!' she wailed in her thought while daring her self to stare at the fan girls with a stoic face. Her face might be stoic, but her brain was panicked. 'This is the worst situation so far!'

She acted like nothing happened and maintained her move to get off from the fire caster's lap. Once her feet touched the cold floor, she straightened herself and shifted her gaze back to the fan girls. "Hi," she greeted them with her stoic expression.

Marika snapped out of her thought then glared at the black-haired girl who was standing beside their idol. "What were you doing just now?" she growled as a dangerous aura appeared around her.

And Jacklyn knew that it wasn't a good sign at all.

She moved to the opened window while saying, "I was trying to get off from this cocky boy." She looked out of the window, checking how high her current position was from the ground. 'Second floor, huh?'

Angry at Jacklyn's calm behavior, she snapped. "What's with the-"

"Get out." Marika was cut off when Natsume said that and the room's temperature suddenly rose.

"I'm sorry, Natsume. But this girl-" She was cut off again when the irritated lad glared at them. "…I understand…We hope you get better soon," the black wavy-haired girl forced a sweet smile on her face, which made Jacklyn and Natsume twitch at the same time, then she went out from the room with the rest of fan girls. Jacklyn thought she saw the leader glare back at her dangerously in a second before the fan girls blocked her sight from the angry girl.

After the door was closed, Jacklyn looked at the annoyed fire caster. "Can you drop the temperature now? It's hot inside here," she said, earning a glare from him.

But the temperature back to normal though.

"Get out," he said dangerously.

This time, Jacklyn glared back at him. "From the door? No. They'll kill me," she retorted in irritation.

The crimson-eyed boy smirked. "So what? Are you planning to jump out from the window?" he asked in a sarcastic tone.

"Sort of," she replied simply as she found a branch of a tree that wasn't so far from the window. She climbed the windowsill. Before she jumped, she gazed back at Natsume. "Hey, don't use your alice too much. Your life is worthier than that," she said, which surprised him a little.

"Hey. Who told you-" He was cut off when the girl jumped and reached the branch successfully.

Well, not too successful. She was hanging on her stomach right at that time and grunted unpleasantly.

'Darn! This will be easy if I use those wings. But it means I reveal my identity and I can't attend Jinno's class,' she thought irritatingly as she hanged on the branch with her hands. She let go off her grasp on the branch and landed on the ground, almost kneeling.

She regained her composure and looked back to the window, which she recognized was Natsume's room, then she shouted, "YOU BETTER GET WELL SOON AFTER YOU CAUSED ME THOSE TROUBLES!!" After that she ran to Junior High School building.

That message was heard clearly by Natsume from his bed. "I've told you to mind your own business, sketchbook girl," he muttered with an annoyed expression.

Suddenly, his eyes widened as he quickly covered his mouth with his right hand and coughed violently.

After a few seconds, the cough subsided. He took a deep breath and pulled back his right hand from his mouth. He looked at his right palm.

Blood…

'It's getting worse again…' he thought as he closed his right hand. 'How much time that I still have to be with her…Mikan…'

--To be continued--

**Jacklyn: You told me to drag her. That means you're a weakling, cocky boy!**

**Natsume: Whatever you say, sketchbook girl. You just want to run from the responsibility.**

**Jacklyn: I'm not! It's just…you're a boy! Feel responsible a little, would you?**

**Natsume: It has no connection with gender.**

**Jacklyn: (Rolls her eyes) Of course it is, stupid.**

**Natsume: (Glare at Jacklyn) I thought I heard you call me stupid.**

**Jacklyn: Yeah. And must I add again? Cocky boy?**

**Natsume: …Prepare your grave.**

**Jacklyn: Whoa… Scarryyy…**

**Mikan: (Shakes her head) Here they go again…**

**Hotaru: Idiot will always be idiot.**

**illutia mist: (Sits while watching the quarrel with Mikan and Hotaru) Wow, nice.**

**Mikan: In your eyes…**

**illutia mist: (Grins) Whatever. It's still nice. Anyway, thanks for reading, good readers! Please review! This is a good show while waiting for the review… (Snickers)**

**Hotaru: (Mutters in annoyance) I can't turn it into money.**


	15. 15th Piece: Breaking the Friendship

**Scribble scribble**

**Mikan: (Looks at illutia) Ne, what are you doing?**

**illutia mist: Figures. I'm writing a story here. It's not like they'll finish their business in the next second. (Points at Jacklyn and Natsume that are still shouting at each other)**

**Hotaru: (Shakes her head) This matter won't be over if those idiots keep retorting at each other.**

**illutia mist: (Nods) Uh-huh. That's why I decided to continue my story while waiting for them to finish their business.**

**Mikan: (Rolls her eyes) Yeah. Until when?**

**illutia mist: (Shrugs) Until they decide to get over with it.**

**Hotaru: (Looks at illutia) You're such a lucky freaky author.**

**illutia mist: (Grins at Hotaru) I know.**

**Natsume: (Bends his eyebrows) You're weaker than me. Admit that!**

**Jacklyn: (Rolls her eyes) It's your opinion, rock-headed boy!**

**Mikan: (Sighs) Oh man…**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**15th Piece: Breaking the Friendship**

KRIIING!!

"And this is the end of our class today. For all of you who haven't turned in the assignment, I add one more page as the punishment and you must turn it in today!" Jinno said before he made his way out from the class.

After the teacher went out from the class and the situation was secured, a few students threw some protests about the punishment they got for not doing the assignment before.

While they were protesting and talking about how cruel the Math teacher was, a certain black-haired girl slammed her forehead on the desk, tired. 'Finally, Jinno's class has been over. My day went smooth so far,' she thought as she closed her eyes. She swore she still could see those Math's formulas and numbers even though her eyes were closed.

"Jacklyn-chan…"

The voice managed to make her heart stop beating for a second.

She knew the voice so well. And the owner of the voice was one of the persons that she wanted to avoid at that time. Since she arrived at the class right a second before the Math teacher came in, she didn't make any eye contact with her friends and focused her eyes to the blackboard instead.

She could do that act easily, for she used to be a taciturn type of person. It's not hard, really. The problem was only if one of them approached her, like what happened just now.

At that time, she wished that she had alice of teleportation instead of drawing. If only she had the teleportation alice, maybe she had transported herself to the other place right now.

In fact, she didn't have that kind of alice.

Jacklyn lifted her head and her dark-brown orbs met with the hazel one. "Mikan?"

The brunette stared at her in hesitation, her hands clasped lowly in front of her. "About yesterday, I understand that you don't want me to get hurt. But I can't ditch my friend just like that," she said sadly.

The black-haired girl stared at her while listening to each word that she said. The truth was she didn't want that cheery girl to be sad. She was her first friend anyway. She felt that it was so selfish of her if she kept on befriending with the brunette and dragged her into the dangerous battle with those fan girls.

Maybe she was selfish too if she stayed away from the brunette without thinking about her feeling, just so the auburn-haired girl would be safe.

But she couldn't think of another way.

A certain fire caster glanced at the two from behind the manga that covered his face. Surely he was injured, but he had gotten permission to check out from the hospital. He had arrived at the class a minute after Jacklyn reached her seat. And of course that stern-face teacher wouldn't scold him, for he knew the lad's side job for the academy.

Natsume skipped Narumi's class due to the wound, but not Jinno's class. Hell, he had done the darn assignment, you know. He didn't really care about Narumi's lesson anyway, knowing that the teacher always gave them weird assignments which he rather not did it.

He focused his eyes to the brunette, listening to their conversation.

"I can defend myself," Mikan said as she stretched her hand and held the black-haired girl's hand. "We help each other. That's what friends are for, right?"

_That's what friends are for…_

She knew it, but still…

Jacklyn, herself, had many secrets that no one knew. She hid the problem, her alice, and many more. She preferred to keep the entire problem to herself. It's not that she didn't like if there's anyone that wanted to help her though. She just felt unsecured if there's anyone getting involved in her problems.

Moreover, if they were her friends…

The black-haired girl kept her head down, staring at her hand that was being held by the brunette. She then released one of her hands, lifted it to the level of her head and waved it up and down at the brunette, signaling her to lower her head. The brunette caught the silent gesture and bent down her head until it was at the same level with Jacklyn's head.

"I have many secrets that can't be told. Are you fine with it?" she whispered in Mikan's ear, carefully not to let the others hear it.

The brunette curved her lips into a smile and said, "You can tell me just if you want. Friend doesn't mean you must spill out all things that you don't want to talk about."

At her wise answer, the black-haired girl should admit that she was touched by her words. She stared at the brunette for a while as a glad and happy feeling filled her heart again. She smiled back at her. 'You are right, Mikan.'

Mikan's smile widened as she saw the small smile appear on Jacklyn's face. She was glad that the girl wanted to understand her intention to help her.

"By the way, it's lunchtime now. Let's go to the cafeteria!" she chirped happily. This suggestion of hers earned a small nod from Jacklyn, who stood up and followed her after she took her bag and sketchbook.

And of course, the brunette didn't forget her other friends just like that. She looked around the class and found three persons that she usually hanged out with still on their seats. "Natsume! Ruka! Hotaru! Let's go!" she called.

Hotaru finished packing her things and approached Mikan when something suddenly bugged Jacklyn's mind. The brunette realized the changing expression on her face at that time. "Jacklyn-chan?"

Jacklyn lifted her head and smiled at her. "Um, Mikan, I remember that I have something to do. You go first to the cafeteria, okay?"

The brunette smiled back at her and said, "Okay. You'll catch up with us later, right?" Jacklyn just nodded and ran out from class.

Natsume, who had been observing the two of them since a few minutes ago, felt something weird at the girl's quick mood-recovery. "Too easy," he muttered when Mikan went to her seat, which was beside him.

She managed to hear the faint murmur from the boy but didn't quite catch what he murmured about. "What?" she asked, curious.

"Nothing," he replied as he stood up.

"Are you going to the cafeteria with us?" she asked again, a bright smile plastered on her face.

"Hn," was all the famous fire caster reply.

-x-

Jacklyn put the white feather under the Sakura tree and let out a small smile after it. She was about to catch up with Mikan and the others when her eyes caught a group of girls walking to a certain direction.

She didn't know why, but she had a bad feeling about this and her heart told her to follow them.

Obeying what her heart said, Jacklyn followed the girls from behind until they went into an empty small building in the west woods. While following them, she drew a few harmless weapons in case if they were fan girls and found her there, preparing for the battle.

She stopped at the entrance and pressed her back onto the wall. Looking around, she made sure no one saw her there like in the last battle. After she thought it was safe, she peeked inside the building carefully.

Her eyes widened.

-x-

"Mikan-chan!" Nonoko called as she approached the gang's table, which consisted of Mikan, Hotaru, Natsume, Ruka, Koko and Yuu. Mikan looked up and smile when she saw the indigo-haired girl walking to their direction.

But then, she realized something unusual.

"Nonoko, are you alone? Where's Anna?" she asked, wondering why the bearer of chemistry alice didn't come with the pink-haired girl. They were usually together.

Nonoko shrugged her shoulders as she took a seat beside the mind reader. "She is suddenly gone. Maybe bake some cakes again."

The brunette made an 'o' shape on her lips as a respond, while the stoic inventor put down her drink and commented, "How unusual."

The indigo-haired girl just shrugged her shoulders once again at the blackmailer's comment.

-x-

Jacklyn was wide-eyed as she saw a girl with wavy-pink hair was lying on the floor while having her eyes covered by a black blindfold.

"Anna!" she gasped quietly.

She shifted her gaze to the girls that were surrounding her friend and found Marika among them. The wavy-black haired girl had her arms folded in front of her chest as she stared down at Anna.

"How long is the sleep potion working?" Marika asked.

"More less an hour again, she will wake up," a girl that was standing beside her said.

"Are you sure she knows about that non-alice girl's alice?" she asked again, unsure.

"It will be more accurate if we ask that Sakura girl. But she is always with Hyuuga-san now, so we can't get near her," the girl answered her question again. "The other option is Ogasawara and Umenomiya. These girls also always hang out with the non-alice girl."

Marika eyes flared up as she said, "If we know her alice, we can make a few plans to teach her a lesson for messing around with our Natsume."

The hiding girl heard the conversation and had her eyes wide opened when she knew the reason they got Anna with them. Her anger started to rise. 'Just because they want to know my alice? And they treat her like this?! I can't forgive them!' she thought angrily as she opened her sketchbook and touched the fifty butterflies that she had drawn before.

The fifty butterflies went alive. As if they knew what to do, they flew to the fan girls and surrounded them, surprising them.

"DARN! WHAT ARE THESE BUTTERFLIES?!" their leader, Marika, shouted. The other girls squealed in panic because of the sudden butterflies' attack.

Jacklyn touched another weapon, the same rope-gun again. Not losing the chance that was given by the butterflies, she ran into the building and shot all the fan girls with her rope-gun, tying them into several groups. She quickly went to Anna when Marika recovered from those sudden attacks.

When she saw Jacklyn kneeling beside Anna, she glared at her in annoyance. "Darn you, non-alice girl! What do you think you're doing to us?!" she scowled angrily at the black-haired girl, who held Anna in her arms.

Jacklyn shot a sharp glare at Marika. "I should be the one who ask you that. I teach you a lesson for messing around with my friends," she said in a dangerous tone.

Marika smirked. "You think you have won now?" she asked mockingly. When she stood up, the rope had loosened and dropped on the floor. "Forgot my alice? Non-alice girl?"

Jacklyn raised an eyebrow and gave them her smirk. "And you forgot this?" she asked the ice alice girl, who had the triumphant smile on her face.

The forgotten butterflies flew around the fan girls' leader, surrounding her once again. Initiatively, she covered her head with her arms and shouted at one of her members. "SUZUKA! THE WIND!"

A girl with light-green hair that was tied to Marika before stood up. She then used her alice to summon the wind around Marika, blowing all of the butterflies away.

But unknown to them, the drawing alice girl used the opportunity to touch the other weapon that she had, which was a fog bomb. As the fog bomb appeared in his hand, the tiredness suddenly came over her.

'I'm exhausted already? In this critical moment? Don't be kidding!' she thought as she started to pant lightly. 'Is this because I made fifty butterflies alive all at once? I know it's too much. Darn! My energy is almost used up!'

While she whined in her thought, the butterflies had disappeared. Marika and Suzuka looked at her. A sneer graced the leader's lips. "Too bad. We have Suzuka today, non-alice girl."

Then one by one, the girls stood up. All ties had been broken. Jacklyn knew exactly that it must be Marika's work again. 'Darn it! This isn't a good situation at all!' she thought in annoyance.

Hoping for luck, she threw the fog bomb to their direction. The fog engulfed them while she quickly drew something on her sketchbook. She touched it and a kind of hairdryer-shaped thing showed up in her hand on time, right when the fog was gone because of Suzuka's alice.

Marika looked very angry. "Suzuka!" she commanded. At the cue, Suzuka used her wind alice once again and sent them to Jacklyn's and Anna's direction. As if she had anticipated this, Jacklyn aimed her hairdryer-shaped weapon at them and turned it on.

Strangely, the wind was suddenly gone and it didn't even touch the two friends.

All the girls, including Marika and Suzuka, were surprised. A smirk crept onto Jacklyn face as she lowered her weapon. "Meet Mr. Wind-sucker," she announced.

Marika frowned. "You…" she growled irritatingly. A few icicles suddenly appeared around her. Jacklyn knew what the black wavy-haired girl would do. Without thinking again, she quickly covered the unconscious girl with her body right when the icicles were being thrown to their direction. Eyes closed, she could feel the icicles scratch her body at that time.

After the icicles' attack had subsided, Jacklyn opened her eyes and lifted her body from Anna. She checked on her and saw that the girl get a few scratches too on her uncovered part. She heaved a relief sigh when she found no deep wound on the girl's body.

But she couldn't forgive what the fan girls' leader had done to her friend.

She lifted her head and cast a sharp glare at Marika.

Without any cue, a wind threw her backward, causing her back to slam onto the wall hardly before she slumped down on her knees. Her weapon and sketchbook were separated from her. She used her hands to support her, for she almost fell forward. She lifted her head and saw Anna still lying on the same spot. She was glad that the wind just hit her.

Her breath got heavier as she fixed her gaze on the fan girls that were standing five meters in front of her. Even though she had already weakened at that time, she tried not to show any fear to them.

"You're weak, non-alice girl," Marika said as she took Jacklyn's sketchbook, which was dropped in front of her. "And you dare to mess around with us. Such a fool."

She still had the persisting glare on them while trying to steady her breathing.

"You can't protect anyone, not even yourself and this pity friend of yours," Suzuka added as she glanced at the unconscious Anna.

Jacklyn held her breath for a second at her words.

"Yeah! It's just a coincidence that you could save that Sakura girl!" the other girls said in chorus.

The bearer of drawing alice shifted her gaze to the floor. 'I know…but…'

"Now, you have realized it, huh? Non-alice girl?" Marika sneered as she held Jacklyn's sketchbook with her right hand.

Jacklyn lifted her head and gazed back at the ice alice user. Her eyes widened when she saw the girl freezing the sketchbook slowly from the bottom until its top.

'No.'

Looking at her surprised expression, Marika formed a wicked grin on her face before she finally broke the frozen sketchbook into small pieces.

'No…'

The pieces of the sketchbook fell to the floor…slowly…in front of her eyes…

Shocked, Jacklyn's eyes were empty, staring at the remains of her sketchbook. The sketchbook was given by her mother and it had some precious memories in it.

And now, the pieces of her sketchbook were scattering on the floor where Marika stood.

"Aw…what's wrong, non-alice girl? Silent so suddenly?" she said in a pretending pity tone as she smirked like a child that finally had her revenge on the other child. Jacklyn froze on her spot, still staring at the pieces on the floor. "You can't help anyone, non-alice girl. Now you learned the lesson," she added. "Messing around with us and your friends will get the consequence too."

"…I have no friend," the black-haired girl said with her head bent down. "You have no one to threat me…starting from today."

"…You're too conceited," Marika said as she shot an icicle to Jacklyn's right arm. The icicle stabbed right on her upper arm and she winced a little. She could feel the hot blood drenching her uniform's sleeve. "We'll see that later," the ice alice user continued. "If we ever see you with someone, you know what will happen to them if you're still messing around with our Natsume."

Without any fear, Jacklyn lifted her head and stared at them with her coldest stare. "Try," she said coldly, having no hesitation in her voice.

At this, Marika raised an eyebrow and smirked. "You're the one who challenged us." She then looked at the other girls. "Let's get out of here. Today's lesson has been over," she said, which was obeyed by her members that went out from the building one by one in the next second.

Marika glanced at Jacklyn from the corner of her eye for the last time before she finally went out from the building with a satisfied look on her face.

When they were outside, Suzuka asked their leader, "Do you think she'll report this to the teachers and the others?"

And once again, the smirk appeared on the black wavy-haired girl's face. "No, she won't. She knew the consequence."

Jacklyn brought her left hand to the icicle that stayed still on her right arm and pulled it out. She stood up limply and approached Anna that was still lying on the floor. She knelt beside her and took the blindfold off from the cooking alice girl then checked on her condition once again. She was relieved that the girl didn't get too much harm, except for the scratches on her legs. She turned her head a little and stared at the pieces of her sketchbook on the floor.

A pang of sadness struck her heart.

But weird, there was no tear in her eyes.

She moved her hands and picked up all of the pieces then she inserted it into her bag. Glancing inside her bag for the last time, she closed it and hung it on her back.

She shifted her gaze back to Anna and carried her by piggy back, which she realized that it was a bit hard to do with her condition at that time. She breathed harder than before but kept on walking though it's limp. 'This is my fault. I must make sure that she is alright,' was her only thought that kept her standing at that time as she walked out from the building.

It's a good thing that she still remembered the way when she stalked the fan girls to the building. She was on the way to the hospital when she saw a raven-haired man with glasses passing there.

She knew him.

He was the man who had healed her hand when she went to the hospital for the first time, Subaru Imai.

"Imai-san…" she called, drawing his attention to her.

He quickly approached her when he saw the wounded girls. "What happened?" he asked, concerned.

Jacklyn knelt down as her body weakened. Subaru quickly healed her and Anna with his healing alice. But even so, she had used her energy too much on her alice and she was in the edge of her consciousness.

She had one last thing to do before she went into deep slumber.

"Please…take her…to the…hospital…" she managed to say out.

Subaru looked at Anna and carried her easily in his arms. He looked back at the black-haired girl. "What about you?" he asked worriedly, though his face was expressionless.

Jacklyn shook her head. "I still have…a business…to do…" she said while breathing heavily, "…quick…take her…" He nodded and went to the hospital immediately.

Jacklyn stared at the running figure for a while. She stood up again and went to Junior High School building with the remaining energy she still had in her body.

'I hope…I can do it well…'

-x-

Mikan and the gang were just from the cafeteria. Yuu, Koko and Nonoko were chatting about random things while they were walking. Hotaru, Ruka and Natsume just walked in silence.

The unusual one was the brunette, who usually joined talking with the others. This time, she walked in silence, joining Natsume, Ruka and Hotaru. Her mind wasn't there at that time. She was thinking about something else, or rather, someone else.

And of course, the trio saw the difference in her, but no one of them asked her about it. They waited for her to say out what was bugging her mind at that time.

'She didn't catch up with us…' she thought, upset. 'She said she will. What happened after that?'

"Jacklyn-chan?"

Nonoko's voice brought the brunette back to reality. Hearing that familiar name, she lifted her head and saw the person that she had been thinking of.

Jacklyn was leaning on the wall at the corridor before them, breathing heavily.

"Jacklyn-chan!" Mikan called as she quickly approached the exhausted girl. "What happened to you?" she asked when she found out that the girl's uniform was scratched and torn here and there, not to mention the blood stain on her right sleeve.

Jacklyn tried to catch her breath for a while then she looked at the brunette. She straightened herself as she stared at her straight in the eyes. "Don't come near me again," she managed to say without being interrupted by the pant.

The words sounded so cold and firm in Mikan's ears. She tried to read her face, but found no hesitation in it. "What's wrong?" she asked, her stare not leaving the girl's face. She thought they finally could understand each other after what she had said to the girl before they went apart at lunchtime, but there's no doubt if she would change her mind again. And just one thing that could make it happen.

Fan girls.

"Is this about them?" she asked again, but Jacklyn didn't make any sound. Mikan got impatient. "I have told you! I can defend myself and you-"

"Just don't come near me again!" Jacklyn snapped, startling the brunette.

Natsume, Hotaru, Ruka, Koko, Yuu and Nonoko that were also there heard their conversation. The situation got tenser.

Mikan bit her lower lip and locked her eyes with Jacklyn's again. "I can't…we are friends, right?" she said softly. But Jacklyn gave her a cold stare.

"Never," she said coldly.

Mikan stared at her, shocked at her words that she uttered just now. "But, the first time we met a week ago, you said-"

"A WEEK DOESN'T MEAN WE ARE FRIENDS!!" Jacklyn shouted at her and it caused her to breathe heavily again. She was getting weaker and weaker. She almost lost her consciousness. 'Not yet. Not yet. Hang on, Jacklyn!' she tried to prevent herself from falling into the unconsciousness.

She closed her eyes for a second and then looked at the brunette again, wondering what expression she had on her face at that time. And as she had guessed before, the brunette was hurt because of her words.

Looking at her hurt expression, Jacklyn also felt hurt. It's like thousands needles stabbed her heart at once. And it just made the unconsciousness start to get the best of her. She could feel her eyelids getting heavier and she just wanted to close them, drowning into the darkness. But she couldn't fall unconscious here.

Not in front of them.

'I'm sorry, Mikan…' she thought, feeling very guilty.

"I object."

The voice came from the inventor. She stood in front of the gang, still with her stoic face on. "I can't take it if you treat her like that. And I'm sure you don't mean to say it."

Jacklyn smiled inwardly, amused at the Ice Queen's sharp feeling. But she couldn't let them know. "Why are you (pant) so sure? (pant)" She smirked.

"As far as I see, you treat her as a friend this whole week, until now, you suddenly change," she explained, as if she dared her to say the truth at that time.

"You (pant) are wrong (Pant) then," the black-haired girl said as she turned away. "All of you, (pant) don't come (pant) near me again."

At this, a certain person gave a reaction. "I never came to you. You're the one who approached me," Natsume said coolly.

Jacklyn smiled, though all of them didn't know because she had her back facing them. "It's just (pant) a coincidence," she said as her vision became blurred and her heart started to ache. 'Darn it! I can't hold this any longer!' she grunted inside her head.

"Jacklyn-chan…" Mikan muttered.

The mentioned girl didn't give any response. She started to walk away while having the side of her body leaning on the wall.

But after she walked a meter far from them, the energy left her body, bringing her consciousness with it. 'Darn it…' was her last thought before her eyes shut completely and her body met the cold floor.

"JACKLYN-CHAN!!" the brunette shouted her name as she approached the unconscious girl quickly, followed by the others.

"We should get her to the hospital! Quick!" Hotaru told Yuu who nodded and directly ran to report it to the teacher.

--To be continued--

**Jacklyn: WHAT THE-! YOU BURNT MY SKETCHBOOK AGAIN!**

**Natsume: (Rolls his eyes) Think what you think. Your sketchbook will be no use again in the future.**

**Jacklyn: (A vein pops on her head) WHAT?!**

**Natsume: You're noisy, sketchbook girl.**

**Jacklyn: (More veins pop on her head) I'LL KILL YOU!!**

**illutia mist: (Gets tense and murmurs) Geez…Where did he get the info?**

**Hotaru: I heard you say something just now.**

**illutia mist: (Laughs nervously) Ha ha? Did I say something?**

**Mikan: (Snatches the script from illutia's hand) Let me see.**

**Hotaru: I think that you better say last words now.**

**illutia mist: (Gulps) I think so. Thanks for reading this chapter, good readers! Please review! Oh! And I thank all of you that have been reading, reviewing, favorite and alerting this story so far!! Thanks! And I have a joint story, titled 'Rice Sack Princess'. Go to my profile for the shortcut! Take a read of it if you like! And darn, I can't get out from here because I'm still attached to the bat!**

**Mikan: WHAT?! YOU DESTROYED HER SKETCHBOOK??**

**illutia mist: (Murmurs) I'm dead…**

**Jacklyn: (Veins pop on her head and turns to illutia) You. Destroy. My. Sketchbook?!**

**illutia mist: (Looks away) Uh…**

**Jacklyn: …You're dead…**


	16. 16th Piece: Decision

**illutia mist: (Hugs the tree tightly) NOOOO!!**

**Jacklyn: (Pulls illutia by her waist) You freaky author!! You destroyed my sketchbook!!**

**illutia mist: I must do it!! That's the only way!!**

**Jacklyn: Only way? Only way your head! Now, let go off the tree and get your punishment!!**

**illutia mist: (Shakes her head) I WON'T! I WOOONNN'T!!**

**Jacklyn: (Pulls illutia harder) Let go off this thing, you freaky author!!**

**illutia mist: WOOONNN'T!!**

**Mikan: …Now, why that two are the one that making a show here?**

**Natsume: (Smirks) Great. Let them be.**

**Hotaru: …I also won't get money from this. Useless show…**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**16th Piece: Decision**

'_Hmph! You're nothing compare to me, little girl!'_

'_You took him away from me!'_

'_You don't belong here!'_

"Marika!"

A pair of turquoise eyes shot open when the owner felt something shaking her shoulder. The first thing that greeted the wavy-black haired girl's eyes after she was aware was a white flat surface, which was part of a thing named wall. She realized that she was just a few inches again from the wall before she hit her forehead on it.

She shook her head, shrugging off the voices in her head that tortured her a few seconds before. Turning her head to face her light-green haired friend, she said, "Sorry, Suzuka, what's wrong?"

Suzuka shook her head and looked at her in the eyes. "You suddenly spaced out just now. Something's wrong?"

Marika closed her eyes and fell silent for a while. After two seconds, she opened her eyes again and said, "Nothing. Something suddenly bothered my mind."

"Fine then," Suzuka said. "Don't get too much spacing out. I won't warn you again."

A smile managed to escape from the black wavy-haired girl's lips. "Okay. Don't worry."

Marika and her friend just went back from the old building where they encountered with Jacklyn. Their other members had gone on their way to do their own business at that time, leaving her and Suzuka wandering at the corridor.

But somehow, not long after the torturing lesson that they had given Jacklyn, Marika remembered something from her past.

A painful memory.

She disliked those feelings she felt at that time. If she could, she wanted to tear her heart away from her body, leaving no emotion in that vessel.

But she couldn't do that.

She still wanted to keep her feeling for a certain school's heart-throb, the famous fire caster, Natsume Hyuuga.

Anyway, if she tore her heart away, she would be dead, right?

Suzuka realized her spaced out friend's silence. She tapped her shoulder again. "Marika."

The ice alice girl looked at her. "What?"

Suzuka hesitated, but she asked anyway, "Don't you think you tortured her too much?"

Marika narrowed her eyes while thinking of an answer. "You think so?"

Suzuka pulled her hand back from the other's shoulder. "If you don't realize, she's bleeding badly."

'_How's that, you sluttish girl?'_

The wavy-black haired girl shook her head again, shrugging off the voice that suddenly rang inside her. She turned away from the wind alice girl. "That served her right," was her answer before she walked to she-knew-where.

-x-

"Mikan-chan!" Narumi called. The wavy-blonde haired teacher quickly went to the hospital with Yuu after the class representative told him what happened.

The brunette, who was waiting with the gang in the hospital, looked up to see the teacher approaching them. Her eyes widened in glad to see him at that time.

"Na-Narumi-sensei!" she called as she hugged her dear sensei, which made a certain fire caster felt annoyed and threw a glare at the gay teacher.

Narumi patted the brunette's head, trying to ease her worry. "I have heard what happened from Yuu. Is she alright?" he asked as he hugged her tight.

"The doctor just went in to examine her," Hotaru said calmly, replacing the shocked brunette to answer his question.

Narumi looked at Koko. Reading the teacher's mind, Koko shook his head and said, "I can't read her mind again, Sensei."

The answer of the mind reader drew the others' attentions. The animal pheromone alice lad braved himself to ask, "Whose mind?"

Koko looked at him. "Jacklyn-san," he replied. "I couldn't read her mind since Monday, just a few days ago."

Narumi grew quiet for a while, recalling the moment when he called the drawing alice user and asked her a few questions. "My alice also didn't affect her. I have tried it yesterday," he finally said, still hugging the trembling brunette.

"Maybe she has nullification alice like Mikan-chan," Nonoko guessed as she looked at the brunette.

All of them fell silent, thinking of the possibility that they had concluded just now.

"She didn't nullify my alice," the just-watching fire caster finally commented, drawing the others' attentions to him.

"She didn't?" Narumi asked, making sure that his ears were still working normally.

Natsume took a quick glance at him. "I won't repeat," he said nonchalantly as he looked away.

Just then, the doctor went out from the room. The blonder teacher approached him after he let go off the brunette in his arms. "How is she?" he asked, worried.

The doctor smiled at him, signaling that everything was just fine. "She just used up her energy. Maybe she used her alice too much. Don't worry. She'll be fine. She just needs some rest," he suggested.

Narumi heaved a relieved sigh at the result and muttered, "thank you."

Without he realized, Mikan had stood beside him and panicky asked, "But, Doctor, what about her uniform that has scratches and blood stains?"

The doctor held his own chin with his thumb and index finger and said, "Actually, I'm wondering about that too. But there's no wound on her body."

Nonoko walked to Mikan's side. "Can we see her now?" she asked with a bit hope that they could see their friend. Even after what Jacklyn had said to them before, all of them still considered her as their friend.

The doctor nodded and said, "But don't make any noisy sound in there. She needs some rest." After all of them nodded in agreement except for Natsume and Hotaru, he excused himself, leaving the gang and Narumi standing in front of the door.

Mikan reached for the doorknob and turned it slowly. As the door opened, they stepped in quietly, trying not to wake up a certain girl.

Inside the room, once again, they saw the same girl lying on the bed, sleeping peacefully. Her uniform had been changed into patient's white attire. They had ever visited her in one of rooms in the hospital before. The difference was just that the room wasn't dim like before. The window was let opened. A certain inventor realized this, but just kept silent.

The brunette went to the bedside, staring at the sleeping girl. She did nothing but just keep on staring at the girl. Of course, many questions filled her head at that time.

"What happened? Why didn't you tell us? We'll always be friends even though you say no." Those words came out from the mind reader's mouth that got a death glare from her in return.

'Read my mind again and I'll kill you!' she threatened in her thought. The mind reader sweat dropped and nodded. Who thought that the brunette could be so scary sometimes?

While all of them were too occupied with the girl and a certain raven-haired girl built her own hypothesis, the fire caster observed the bedside table. "Something is missing," he suddenly said, making all the heads in the room turn to him.

"What's missing?" Mikan asked as she tilted her head a little, curious.

"Sketchbook," he mentioned simply.

After hearing his simple answer, the brunette directly moved her gaze to the bedside table. And as the fire caster had said before, there was just Jacklyn's bag on it. Her sketchbook was nowhere to be found.

"You're right, Natsume," she said as she lifted the bag to see if the sketchbook was under the bag. But there was nothing on the table. "I wonder where it is."

"Maybe she didn't bring her sketchbook today," Nonoko said.

Mikan shook her head. "She brought it. I'm very certain about it. I saw her take her sketchbook this morning before lunch time," she said, convincing them. She grew quiet after that then continued, "But…when she told us not to come near her…she didn't have her sketchbook with her…"

They exchanged glances at each other for a few seconds, except for a certain inventor and fire caster who looked uninterested at all. "So, where did it go?" Yuu finally said out what they had in their minds.

"The last time we saw her was at lunchtime when we was about to go to the cafeteria," Hotaru started.

Mikan poked her own palm with her other hand that formed into a fist. "She said she had something to do and told me to go first to the cafeteria. And she agreed to catch up with me later," she said, recalling what happened at lunchtime.

"But she never came," Ruka continued.

"And when we met her at the corridor, she has already acted strange," Koko added.

Mikan looked at Jacklyn's bag, which was in her hands at that time. She already had an idea what happened exactly. 'Fan girls?' she thought. She heard someone gasp in the next second after she thought about that. The brunette lifted her head, just to see that everyone was looking at Koko. The mind reader covered his mouth with his hands as he looked at the brunette.

Mikan narrowed her eyes at him. 'What? You read my mind again?' Reading her question in her mind, the mind reader nodded slowly and gave her a 'sorry' look. Her eyes didn't move away Koko's when she thought again, 'Never mind. She has told me who kidnapped me before. It's the fan girls right?' The mind reader nodded again.

The others looked at them in confusion, wondering what they were doing. "Why did you nod your head, Koko?" Nonoko asked in wonder.

Koko looked at her with a weird smile. He knew he must make an excuse or Jacklyn's secret that she had entrusted to him would blow up. "Umm, my head is a little stiff," he said as he did some 'neck sport', earning a weird look from the others.

However, there were two peoples that were too smart to be fooled. Hotaru spotted Koko and Mikan exchanging glances a while ago, so she had guessed that Koko talked to Mikan in his mind.

The fire caster also realized that. He looked at the mind reader sharply. 'You're lying,' he said in his thought. Reading his mind, Koko nodded his head to Mikan, signaling the crimson-eyed boy to look at the brunette, which he obliged. Mikan gave him a 'you-know-what' look and Natsume stared at her in confusion. He didn't quite catch what the brunette meant.

Silence engulfed the room. All people had their own thought in their mind at that time. The fire caster kept looking at the brunette, trying to find out what she meant. The silence kept engulfing them, until…

BAM!

"MIKAN! WE HEARD THAT OUR 'A WEEK JUNIOR' GOT HURT!" a raven-haired lad's shout and the suddenly-barging-in act made all peoples in the room turned their head to the just-coming-guest.

WHACK!

"You're too loud, stupid!" a red-haired girl said as she rubbed her knuckle that she used to hit the lad.

As you had guessed, Tsubasa just barged into the room noisily and Misaki handled it by giving him a hit on the head. Well, it was them anyway.

The sudden ruckus made everyone, except Natsume and Hotaru, startled. Mikan even dropped Jacklyn's bag that she held in her hands because she was too surprised.

It's good that no one got a heart-attack because of that.

Realizing that she just dropped the bag, the brunette quickly knelt and was about to pick up the bag when she saw the bag was opened. The contents were scattering on the floor. Most of them were pieces of paper.

Narumi, who stood beside her, saw those pieces of paper too. He knelt on his left knee and asked, "What are those pieces?"

"I don't know," Mikan replied as she picked up a few pieces and examined it.

The others wondered what they were talking about while kneeling beside the bed. They decided to approach the two. What they saw when they approached was the brunette put down the stack of paper's pieces on the floor and she still looked into Jacklyn's bag for more pieces.

It took her a few minutes to bring out all pieces from inside her bag. When she had made sure that there was no piece left inside the bag, she shifted her gaze to the pieces of paper that she had placed on the floor. She put the bag beside her and started to put the pieces together. It was just like doing a puzzle.

By helping each other, except Natsume who was just watching the group busily putting the pieces together, they finally finished a shape. They looked closely at their finally-finished puzzle.

It's an empty paper.

"Empty. Nothing is on it, even a scribble," the animal prince commented.

Mikan took another pile of pieces and they did the other puzzle again. And this time, after they were busily engaged with it for a few minutes, there's a drawing on the paper.

The brunette observed it closely and mumbled, "I think I ever saw this drawing…"

It didn't take a long time to guess what it was. Natsume was the first person who realized what that was. "It's her sketchbook," he suddenly said, which made the others look at him once again.

"How do you know?" Mikan asked, curiosity engulfed her.

He locked his tantalizing crimson eyes with her affectionately hazel eyes. "Burnt mark," he replied simply. Wondering at his answer, Mikan and the others searched for the burnt mark that the fire caster said.

And they indeed found a familiar burnt mark on the corner of the paper.

The brunette focused her gaze to the pieces that hadn't been put together. Her hands moved smoothly along the scattered pieces and she found some pieces with the same burnt mark.

Same shapes. Same spots.

She picked a few of them and piled it. "It's indeed like some pages of something…" she mumbled.

She gazed at the pile of paper's pieces again. Her eyes spotted a thick one and she picked it up. As she touched the piece, she could feel that the piece was different than other. It's a bit thick and the kind was also different. She searched again and found some pieces that were different than the others. She separated them from the others and tried to put it together.

The rest were watching her putting the pieces together for the next ten minutes.

When it was done, Mikan's eyes widened for a bit, seeing something that she thought was familiar with her eyes. "…This is the same design with her sketchbook's cover…" she said. She flipped the pieces one by one, trying to form the design on the other side.

And what she saw next surprising her more than before.

There, she saw the message that was left by the now-sleeping girl's mother behind it. It was the same with what she had seen when the sketchbook was still in a whole form without any scratch.

Well, maybe a little burnt mark, for a certain fire caster had burnt it a little on the corner.

"This really is her sketchbook…" she said in shock. "…How could this happen?"

The older raven-haired lad got wondered. "Did she tear it by herself?" he asked.

Mikan shook her head. "She really took a good care of her sketchbook. She even smacked Natsume's head when he burnt it," she told them, which made a few of them giggle and sneer but they tried to hold it, except for Tsubasa who failed to hide his sneer. Natsume had an annoyed expression on his face when he remembered the incident.

Suddenly, the door opened again, revealing a black-haired man with glasses who immediately locked his eyes with Hotaru's. All peoples in the room looked at the two who were staring at each other. They thought they felt the temperature went down drastically when the two exchanged glances.

"What are you doing here?" Hotaru asked the man sharply.

"And what are you doing here?" the man retorted, not surprised at her sharp tone.

The blonde teacher, Narumi, approached the man. "Subaru, is there anything wrong?" he was surprised to see him there, considering that the man never showed his interest in a certain girls. And he never met her too.

Well, that was what the gay teacher thought. He didn't know that Subaru had met Jacklyn twice.

Subaru looked at Narumi and shook his head. "No. I have just been informed by a nurse that there's a shoulder-length black-haired girl that is being hospitalized," he said as he approached the sleeping Jacklyn. "I should have known that she wouldn't stand for a long time."

The sentence didn't pass just like a wind in Hotaru's ears. She heard each word clearly and could easily make out a conclusion.

Her brother had ever seen Jacklyn before.

"You have met her just now?" she asked, trying to get any confirmation from him.

Subaru looked at his stoic sister with his expressionless face too. "When the lunch time was almost over," he explained, "she carried a girl on her back. Both of them got scratches. For this now-sleeping girl, her right arm was hit by something that caused it to bleed quite badly."

Hotaru nodded in understanding. "Now I understand why there's no wound even though the uniform got scratches here and there," she said.

Mikan, being stupid, didn't catch what they were talking about and got curious. "Why is that?"

Hotaru threw her a 'stupid' glance, which Mikan wasn't aware of at all. "Stupid. This man healed her," she replied a little harshly. "You forgot that he has the healing alice."

The brunette's lips formed a small 'o', indicating that she had understood. "Oh, right," she said after as she scratched the back of her head, smiling sheepishly.

Hotaru let out a sigh then she looked back at her brother. "You said she carried a girl on her back. Where is she now?" she asked.

The healing alice user stared at her in silence for a few seconds before he answered, "I carried her to this hospital. Now, the girl is still resting in room 132. She has awoken though." He paused for a while as he looked at Jacklyn. "But this girl refused to go to the hospital. She said she had some business to do."

Mikan turned to face Hotaru. "Is it when she told me that we have never been friends?" she asked, though she felt a bit hurt when she said it.

The bearer of the Ice Queen title just shrugged. "Maybe yes," she said. "Let's visit the other girl. Maybe she has any clue about this."

-x-

"Anna?" Mikan asked in disbelief after she saw the girl that was occupying room 132.

The mentioned girl was sitting on her bed, reading a cooking book. Her eyes shone brightly when she saw the brunette and the others standing at the door. "Mikan-chan! Everyone!" she greeted them with her best smile.

Mikan quickly approached the pink wavy-haired girl and held her in her embrace tightly, as if they hadn't met in a long time, maybe years. Of course, this action of hers made the girl surprised. "Mi-Mikan-chan?" Anna called her in confusion. "What's wrong?"

"Anna-chan! Are you alright? Are you hurt?" the brunette asked while hugging her tighter, making the girl need the air badly at that time.

"Mi…kan…chan…breath…" she stuttered. She could feel the dizziness started to fill her head.

BAKA!

The familiar sound that came from Hotaru's Baka Gun hit the brunette's head in the next second. She lay flatly on Anna's bed. "You'll kill her, stupid," the inventor said flatly.

"Ouch! Sorry, Anna!" the brunette said as she rubbed her sore head and got up from the bed.

Anna just smiled at her.

'What a stupid girl,' Natsume thought as he rolled his eyes.

"Anna, are you okay?" Nonoko asked as she approached the cooking alice girl. She was worried when Anna was gone at lunchtime, though she didn't show it on her face.

Anna nodded, still with her smile on her face. "Um…actually, I just slept," she said. "I suddenly felt sleepy when I just finished backing a cake. I was quite surprised when I found myself at hospital when I woke up."

Her statement made the rest think in silence, wondering what had happened during the lunchtime. "Don't you remember anything before you fell asleep?" Mikan asked.

"Mmm…" Anna was thinking hard, index finger on her chin.

"Too bad. She doesn't remember being hurt or anything, Sakura," the mind reader answered it for her. The others just stared at him, knowing that he just read Anna's mind.

Feeling the uncomfortable tension, Anna tilted her head in confusion and asked, "Is there anything wrong?"

At the cue, the class representative, Yuu, approached her and explained, "Imai's brother said that Jacklyn-san carried you and both of you got scratches, so he healed you and took you here by Jacklyn-san's request."

Upon hearing this, the pink-haired girl blinked twice. "You mean…I was attacked? Really? I have no idea about it," she said in surprise.

They exchanged glances again, finding that they had the entire clues except the biggest one. "So, the key is Jacklyn," Hotaru concluded, "but I bet she prefers to hide it than to say it out."

'Right,' the fire caster thought as he looked away.

-x-

It was so early in the next morning when the black-haired girl woke up. She opened her eyes slowly and turned her head to the window, seeing that it was still dark out there.

And she still felt so tired too…

She slowly moved her body to the sitting position. As she was in her sitting position, she stared at her lap and recalled what had happened before she lost her consciousness.

'_You are weak, non-alice girl.'_

'_Such a fool.'_

'_You can't protect anyone, not even yourself and this pity friend of yours.'_

The voices kept on ringing in her head, like a recorder that had been planned inside her. But she knew though. She realized.

'I'm weak…and fool…' she thought as she closed her eyes and held her head with her hands. 'I couldn't protect myself or my friend…'

'_Now, you have realized it, huh? Non-alice girl?'_

Jacklyn opened her eyes again and looked at the bedside table. She found her bag on it. She remembered the time when her sketchbook fell into pieces. The event kept on playing in her head, like it just happened an hour ago.

She stretched her hands and took her bag from the bedside table. She held her bag closely and the memory where her sketchbook was being torn into pieces was playing in her mind again.

'_You can't help anyone, non-alice girl.'_

'_Why couldn't she be like Izu? Stop drawing and concentrate on her study?'_

'_She should be a good example for Izu.'_

'_She is no use at all.'_

'…I'm useless…' she thought as her eyes lost its light, leaving the dark brown eyes in emptiness. She had heard that words many times.

She was no use.

She should be like this or that.

No one really looked into her…

Thought that she was just fine…

And she didn't talk about that either…

She was the one that keeping the secrets all to herself…

She wanted to show them that she could do all by herself…

Though she knew it was almost impossible.

Look at her now.

What good had come to her after what she had done?

Nothing.

It just proved her that she was a weakling.

Did she have something useful? …Even though just one?

'_You have an useful alice. I can help you to improve it.'_

Another voice suddenly rang in her head.

'_I can train you so you can learn self-defense and use your alice against any attack.'_

The other rang again in her head, bringing back the light to her eyes again.

'…_And you can help your friends too.'_

Jacklyn stared at her lap, still with her bag in her embrace. She remembered the voice and she thought about the offer that he had offered before. 'If I learn the self-defense and improve my alice, I can protect them,' she thought as she looked at her bag that contained the remnants of her sketchbook, as if she could see through inside her bag.

She lifted her right hand and pulled the attire's long sleeve down, showing the bracelet with silver-blue gem that circled her tiny wrist. She stared at the silver-blue gem, thinking twice before she decided and made it final.

'_If you change your mind, kiss the gem.'_

The words stayed in her mind while she just kept on staring at the gem for a quite long time.

Heaving a sigh, she finally brought her right hand closer to her face and placed a light kiss on the gem. A hologram screen appeared and the masked man with silver-blue hair showed up on the screen. A smile graced his face.

"_I've been waiting for you, little angel_," he said. "_So have you already decided?_"

Jacklyn nodded as her answer. She didn't feel like to talk at that time.

"You've changed your mind?" he asked again to make sure. It was the point of no turning back.

Jacklyn grew quiet for a while, hesitation started to show up in her heart. But in the next second, she nodded again, shrugging off the uncomfortable feeling.

She saw his smile widen at her agreement. "_Then meet me next week, 11 pm, at the small building in the woods where the girls attacked you two days ago. I'll be waiting…little angel…_" he told her before the screen disappeared.

Jacklyn had her eyes widened a bit when he talked about the fight that she got in the small building. 'He's there?' she thought in disbelief. The man had observed her all this time.

Creepy.

That was what she felt when she thought about it.

She had a suspicion that he was stalking her. Maybe he had even sneaked inside her room.

…

Oh well, she surely had to be more careful next time…and make sure that she would tackle him if she ever busted him in her room, stalking her.

Then she remembered about a certain brunette. Her beaming face appeared suddenly in her mind, bringing up the guilty feeling that she felt before when she broke their friendship.

'How will I act towards Mikan and the others now?' she thought as she sighed. 'I have no problem with the other classmates. But Mikan and the gang? I can't get too close to them because they're always with Natsume.' She touched her forehead, thinking hard. 'Not only breaking the friendship, I have to start from zero again.'

Jacklyn sighed again for the third time at that night while putting down her bag on her lap. She looked outside the window. The sky had started to change from dark color to dark-blue color. And in a few hours again, the sun would rise.

And that time would be a new page of her life in the Alice Academy.

--To be continued--

**Jacklyn: (Still trying to pull illutia off from the tree) LET. GO. OFF. THE. TREE!**

**illutia mist: (Hugs tighter) Hell I won't!**

**Jacklyn: (Glares at illutia) You rock-headed author!**

**illutia mist: Whatever you say, I won't!**

**Jacklyn: (Lets illutia go and pants lightly) …Let me think…What should I do to you…?**

**Hotaru: Why don't you cut off her hands?**

**illutia mist: (Eyes bulge out) WHAT?!**

**Jacklyn: … (Smirks) …Nice idea…**

**Hotaru: Pay me a thousand rabbits for that.**

**Jacklyn: Deal. I'll go to get my wallet and see if there's a saw near here. (Walks away)**

**illutia mist: (Teary-eyes) Hotaru, you're mean!!**

**Hotaru: (Rolls her eyes) Money rules.**

**illutia mist: (Cries waterfall) You're a heartless person. Oh well, might as well say something before she comes back.**

**Hotaru: (Crosses her arms in front her chest) You better be.**

**illutia mist: (Sniffs) Good readers, thanks for reading this piece ne. Thanks for the reviews in the previous chapters…It means a lot to me…Please review again…AND I HOPE THIS IS NOT MY LAST WILL!! (Bursts into tears)**

**Hotaru: …She comes back.**

**illutia mist: (Mutters in submission) Oh dear…**


	17. 17th Piece: When Being Alone

**illutia mist: NOOO!! (Hugs the tree tighter)**

**Jacklyn: You're lucky that I didn't find any saw! Let go off the tree now! (Pulls illutia by her waist)**

**illutia mist: I WON'T!**

**Hotaru: (Takes out her Baka gun) Then this is the only option.**

**Hotaru then shot the tree, sending the tree to the outer planet with illutia attached on it. Jacklyn stared in shock then looked at the inventor.**

**Jacklyn: Where did you send her?**

**Hotaru: Mars. My favorite place. (Blows the smoke that comes out from her Baka gun)**

**Jacklyn & Mikan & Natsume: …**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**17th Piece: When Being Alone**

Things had never been easier in this life.

Sure, it didn't.

A few of temptations always came after her, wishing that she would fall into one of them.

Many times she had almost surrendered. But there were also many times she managed to shrug them off.

The temptations called…

Feeling…

It had been three days.

Three days since Mikan said that they would always be friends.

Three days since her fight with the fan girls that involved Anna.

Three days since her only gift from her mother was ruined.

Three days since she broke their friendship.

Three days since she made up her decision.

And three days since she decided to avoid them.

She felt no hesitation at first. She believed that she could do it. It's an easy thing to do. She just needed to avoid them, not talking if it wasn't important. It looked so easy, didn't it?

Yeah.

It's easy for her to say.

It's easy when she thought about it.

But it turned to be a difficult thing to do when she confronted the reality.

She had convinced herself repeatedly. Yet, it's no use.

Fate was playing with her, letting her encounter with them wherever she went. At the dormitory's corridors, on the way to the class, cafeteria, washroom, and all place in the academy.

Well, as long as she was still in that academy, she would always see them. She couldn't blame Fate for this. But she couldn't stand it if she always met them every time, everyday.

Couldn't Fate give her any compensation?

She always hid and ran every time she caught a glimpse of them, except Natsume, Hotaru…and maybe Ruka too. Well, they had no business with her anyway. She just had to smile when she met Ruka, a greeting smile.

Yuu ever tried to talk to her, but she just smiled and left him behind. Koko couldn't read her mind and she was glad for it, but she realized that the mind reader had gotten suspicious at her. He didn't try to go close to her though. Good.

Anna and Nonoko were a quite hard one. Actually, if she thought about it again, she had no reason to avoid them. They didn't get too close to Natsume or Ruka. They were on the neutral side. But she didn't want them to be hurt. She still remembered the incident clearly, which Anna got involved in. That's the reason.

Mikan.

The brunette was too dense and innocent to be involved in this matter. She was glad that the fan girls didn't attack her, though she had no idea why.

But the brunette was a persistent one.

The bubbly girl had tried to approach her many times. Yet, the black-haired girl quickly went away before she could ask her anything. And if it was needed, she just gave a quick smile and ran away to she-knew-where.

That was what she needed; smile and run away.

It had been three days…

But those were the most tired days she had ever felt in her life.

RIIINNNGGG!! KLAK!

A hand that stretched out from under the blanket turned off the alarm, preventing the thing to disturb the owner of the hand any longer. After making sure that the thing didn't ring again, the hand went back and disappeared under the white blanket.

The lump under the blanket stirred and a head with black-colored hair stuck out from it. The black-haired girl rubbed her eyes sleepily and tossed the blanket aside. She got off from the bed as she stifled a small yawn.

Slipping her tiny feet into her white bed slippers, she walked to the window and stared outside. The sky was painted in grey color, which meant the weather was gloomy today. There was no any hint that it would change to a better weather later. The sky looked like it wanted to cry at that time.

She never liked this kind of weather. There was no good thing that came out when the weather was gloomy like this. She preferred the bright sunny day which always made her day though she had a bad time sometimes.

Bright sunny day…like Mikan…

Jacklyn's eyes wandered to the green field. A few students could be seen walking to the school building. She spotted a few of them bringing their umbrella with them, maybe as a preparation if it's suddenly raining later.

From the window, she moved her gaze to the alarm clock on the bedside table. It was 6 am and she still had some time to prepare herself for the classes, so she went to the bathroom and did her morning routine.

She was about to brush her teeth when she looked at her face in the mirror and saw a girl with a tired look on her face. That reminded her of these three days that she had gone through by avoiding the gang.

'I wonder if I can stand this longer…' she thought as she heaved a tired sigh and started to brush her teeth.

It didn't take more than five minutes for her to brush her teeth. After she finished brushing her teeth, she turned the faucet on and got a hand full of cold water. She splashed it onto her face, wishing she would get fresher after this.

Wiping her wet face with a white soft towel in the bathroom, she took a look at the girl in the mirror again. She still looked tired but it was better than before.

Jacklyn proceeded doing her mourning routine. Stripping off her clothes, she turned on the shower and stepped under it, feeling the millions cold water drops touching her bare body. And here she was again, spacing out as she recalled the days when she broke their friendship.

She felt no guilt. Of course she didn't.

The only thing that made her feel guilty was the fact that she had hurt the brunette, though she could get through of it in these three days. That feeling had disappeared slowly as she busied herself in avoiding them.

She stepped out from the shower with her damp hair, snatched a white towel then wrapped it around her body. She wouldn't get late again just because she pondered too much in the shower.

Grabbing her uniform that she had hung behind the bathroom door the night before, she took off the towel and changed into her uniform. She dried her hair with towel while walking out from the bathroom and approached the window once again.

Many students had gone out from the dormitory at that time. She even saw Yuu walking to the school building along with Koko. Behind the two, she spotted Anna and Nonoko walking and chatting. She let out a small smile at the sight.

She cast a glance at the alarm clock again. It was 6.30 am. She had wasted a lot of times to ponder under the shower once again. Deciding that this was the right time to go, she combed her half-dried hair and went to the bathroom to hang the towel.

Going out from the bathroom, she approached her desk and took her bag. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

'Today is the fourth day…Another day to go…'

-x-

"Mikan-chan."

The aforementioned girl turned her head to the voice's direction and saw the blonde wavy-haired teacher approaching her. Hotaru, who was with her at that time, also stopped on her track to hear what the teacher wanted to say.

As Narumi arrived in front her, he smiled and asked, "How are you today?"

The brunette beamed at him and replied, "I'm fine, Narumi-sensei!"

Narumi's smile widened, glad to see her happy. He was quite worried when he saw Jacklyn and the brunette barely went together these days. Of course he wondered if there was something happening between them. But after seeing her could still smile like this, he shrugged that thought off for now. "Good. By the way, have you seen Jacklyn-chan? There's something that I want to ask her," he said.

At the mentioning of the name, Mikan's face directly changed into a sad one. Narumi realized this. "I…don't know, Sensei…I haven't gotten any chance to talk to her…" she muttered while looking down.

The teacher got curious upon hearing the girl's statement. 'So there's really something happening between them…' he thought as he eyed the sad brunette. "Did something happen between you and Jacklyn-chan?" he braved himself to ask, though he didn't want to bring up the gloomy topic.

Mikan shook her head slowly and looked up. A bright smile was back on her face. "It's nothing, Sensei. She's just a bit busy these days," she assured the teacher. She wouldn't tell him about the thing that Jacklyn asked her not to tell. If she told him, the problem would get worsened and the teacher would ask the black-haired girl many questions which would just make the girl got more pressure than she already had.

Besides, she believed that they would be back to normal, though she didn't know when.

And she had faith in it.

"Are you sure, Mikan-chan?" Narumi asked unsurely. He didn't remember giving his students much homework. But then again, he's not the only teacher at the Alice Academy.

The brunette nodded briskly. "Yes, I'm sure of it," she confirmed without any hesitation, hoping that teacher wouldn't get suspicious at her.

And her pray was granted.

Narumi gave her a big smile, relieved that there was nothing happening between his students. At least, that was what he thought. "That's good then. I wonder what she's doing these days. Did the teachers give all of you much homework?"

"Well…not really. But I believe she has other things to do beside homework," the nullifier girl said as she smiled awkwardly while scratching her cheek.

Hotaru was watching the brunette from behind, knowing that the brunette tried to hide the fact that there was a problem between them. She, herself, had many conclusions in her mind about the drawing alice girl and if her best friend knew something about this.

No. She was sure that the brunette knew the suspect of the kidnapping incident before and the incident that involved Anna four days ago, though she just kept silent about this.

Narumi just smiled and said, "Yeah, she must be." Mikan just smiled back at him while the inventor stared at the brunette in silence with all hypotheses she had concluded in her head.

-x-

Jacklyn stretched her hands up, welcoming the gentle breeze to swap her dark mood away in that morning. She lifted her head and stared at the sky. It was still that grey-colored one. She tilted her head and bent her eyebrows unpleasantly before she finally shrugged her shoulders and proceeded her way to the Junior High School building.

On the way, she glanced around her, seeing a few students who also went to the same destination with her. She saw a few of her classmates, though she hadn't seen the persons that she avoided recently.

Heaving a sigh, she kept walking while drowning in her own thoughts again. She had gone back to her old self, being alone again. The one and the only thing that accompanied her along those quiet times was her own thoughts. She didn't care about what she thought at that time, anything as long as she could distract herself from the loneliness and spend her leisure time in the day.

She must admit, since she befriended with Mikan, something inside her had changed. She used to be able to stand a week in loneliness without talking to any person, even her parents. Heh, she couldn't talk to them because they would rain her with many complaints and what-they-called advices even before she finished her first sentence.

Yeah, but did they know that they gave her many complaints than advices? Well, she didn't care. Not since her parents always talked about the same things everyday.

She decided to lock herself up in her room after she came home from school and had her food.

She didn't talk much because, once again, if she tried to talk, they would just bring up the topic about Izu or whatever-it-was.

And now, it had just been three days and she had already missed them so much. Um…okay, not Natsume. The boy was out from her count.

Not that she hated him or what, she just simply didn't like him. Well, she was concerned if he suddenly got injured badly like the last time. Who wouldn't? Right?

Ruka…not really. She wasn't too close to him.

Youichi…no. He was just kind to her when she was Miss Angel.

Hotaru…not really too. Not only she wasn't close to her, but the Ice Queen also never talked to her after the incident, just like what she had told her before. But she never talked to her even before the incident anyway. Recently, Jacklyn felt the inventor staring at her in a kind of way, like sending many questions through the telepathy.

It surely was a silly thinking of her. She must shrug that off. It was impossible that the inventor had an interest in her.

Koko…a bit. To think that he used to can read her mind and he knew about her problems with the fan girls, yeah, she quite missed his innocent look and simple thinking. He was a cheerful one too.

Anna and Nonoko…yeah, she missed them. Those two always cheered her up and showed her a few fun things to do. Hey, thinking about them, she missed Anna's cookies. Jacklyn let a small smile make its way onto her lips when she remembered those two.

And the brunette…

The black-haired girl stopped when she saw a certain blonde-haired boy leaning on the tree trunk before her. It looked like that the boy also realized her presence there because he turned his head to her. A smile was on his face when he greeted her, "Good morning, Jacklyn-san."

Jacklyn managed to let out a small smile as she greeted him back, "Good morning, Nogi-san."

"Just call me Ruka. It feels strange when you called me Nogi-san," he said kindly, still smiling.

The black-haired girl raised her eyebrows. "But Imai always calls you…"

"Uh, yeah, she also calls Natsume by his surname too," the animal prince said in an…awkward tone, if she didn't hear it wrong. "But just call me Ruka. I feel more comfortable with it," he added.

Jacklyn chuckled lightly. "Fine. It's Ruka then."

Ruka smiled and, somehow, was glad when he saw her chuckling. "It has been three days since the last time I saw you this comfortable. It's good to see you like this," he said, making the girl instantly look at him. The chuckle was gone from her lips, replaced by a surprised look on her face.

She looked down and stared at her shoes for a few seconds. The boy got confused at her silent act. A half of him thought that he had said something wrong just now. "Jacklyn-san?"

At the call, Jacklyn lifted her head and looked at him. A smile graced her lips when she said, "Don't worry. Everything is fine. I'm just fine."

"Oh…okay…" Ruka muttered unsurely.

She widened her smile. "And just call me Jacklyn. The 'san' addition makes me feel old or something like that. Tell Koko and Yuu about this too."

Ruka smiled back. "Okay. But why don't you tell them by yourself?"

The smile was wiped off from her face. "Nothing…I just…forgot to tell them. That's all," she said as she started to walk again. "Anyway, I'll be going to the class first. See you at class!" She smiled at him and ran off to the junior high school building, leaving a few questions in the lad's mind.

Ruka watched her back in silent. "Until when she could stand this?" he muttered as the running figure started to disappear from his sight.

-x-

'_You're not worth him!'_

'_Get out of my sight! You already get on my nerves!'_

'_I don't need you again! You're a traitor! Slut!'_

'_How about if we teach her a lesson? It must be fun…'_

"NO!" Marika shouted as she shot her eyes open. As she sat up, she found out that she had just fallen asleep on a seat in her fans club headquarter. She felt the cold sweats trickling down on her face and her hands were trembling badly. Wrapping her hands around her body, she tried to calm down and convinced herself that it was just a dream.

…Yeah…another bad dream…

"Marika?"

The familiar kind voice attracted her attention. She turned her head slowly to the voice's direction and saw the light-green haired girl approaching her. Her face showed that she was worried at that time. Of course, she suddenly shouted like that. Who wouldn't get worried when they heard that kind of panicked shout?

"…Suzuka?" the black wavy-haired girl murmured. She was still trembling badly.

Suzuka stopped by her side and knelt down. "Are you alright? You're sweating and trembling badly. Your face also looks pale." She stretched her right hand and put it on Marika's forehead.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Suzuka," she said as she put her left hand on the other's hand and pulled it away from her forehead. "I just had a bad dream. It's okay now."

"You have been like this since the last time we taught the girl a lesson. Do you think this is her doing? Her alice?" Suzuka said, getting suspicious at the possibility. She was concerned about her friend's condition lately. Marika always had a bad dream, whether it was when she slept at night or day.

The result was the ice-alice wielder had been lack of sleep in these three-four days. Suzuka realized that she could get sick or have a bit mental problem if this condition kept going on.

Marika shook her head. "I don't think so, Suzuka. This is just a bad dream. This used to be happening until I enrolled in this Alice Academy. When I entered this academy, it has stopped. I wonder what makes it come again…" she uttered as she touched her own forehead.

Suzuka patted her shoulder gently. "Maybe you're tired. Take a long rest. I'll ask permission from the teachers for you," she said as she stood up and went to the door.

"Suzuka," Marika called her before the light-green haired girl walked out from the door. Suzuka turned to face her. The black wavy-haired girl smiled and said, "Thanks for your concern."

Suzuka smiled back at her. "You're welcome." Then she went out from the room.

Marika let out a sigh and stared at her hands on her lap. "Darn those dreams…" she muttered in annoyance.

-x-

KRRIINGG!!

The bell for the lunchtime could be heard from the roof.

"Ah…I have missed the class, huh?" Jacklyn said while staring at the gloomy sky above her.

As what she had just said before, she didn't attend the first and second period today. It's not a big problem though, considering that the first and second period were Narumi's class.

What was the reason?

Simple. She had no mood to attend any classes today. She wouldn't be able to concentrate anyway. Three days in loneliness surely had drawn out her good mood. If she knew she would ditch the class today, she would better choose to keep on lying on her comfy bed even though she had to destroy her alarm clock for that.

What could she say? The idea to ditch the classes suddenly popped in her mind when she almost reached the class. Her feet suddenly turned at a corner and here she was now, leaning her hands on the white steel fences that prevented her from falling to the ground down there.

Seeing the grey sky, she was once again drowning in her deep thought. She had gotten tired of this. She didn't know when this avoiding game would end.

Game…

If this was only a game, then it should have been easier for her to end it right here, right now. But this wasn't. She had thought about this many times, what should she do? Which should she choose? Her friends' safety? Or her egoistic need?

Jacklyn sighed and took her bag that she put down on the floor beside her before. She opened it and took out a paper from inside.

It was the last remain from her drawing book, which contained a drawing of a boy.

"What should I do?" she asked the drawing, as if it could answer her.

She spent a few minutes staring at the drawing and there was still no answer. Of course it wouldn't answer. If it could, it would be very creepy, you know.

She held the paper closer to her chest and muttered, "I wish you could be here with me at time like this. Not as a drawing that will be gone after twenty four hours…"

Yes. Deep in her heart, she hoped that it would happen. She prayed hard and held the drawing closely in her embrace, until she suddenly felt her eyelids getting heavier and her hold on the paper loosened.

'Oh, darn it…what…happened…?' she thought as she started to breathe heavily and clutched her chest in pain. 'I hardly…could breathe…' was her last thought before she fell on her knees then lay on the floor and lost her unconsciousness.

'Darn it…'

-x-

'Hm…no feather today?' Youichi Hijiri thought as he walked around the Sakura tree. 'Did she forget? Or she's injured again?'

A cold presence disturbed his thought. Youichi turned to his back and saw a transparent girl standing before him. Peoples might not be able to see her, but not Youichi. His spirit manipulation ability made him can see that kind of things which a normal person couldn't see, the wondering spirit.

The girl lifted her hand in front of her and waved her palm back and forth, signaling him to follow her. He lifted an eyebrow, wondering what the girl wanted from him.

'_Roof…Junior High School…_'

The crystal clear voice suddenly rang in his head. The little boy stared at her again and asked, "What's with the roof?"

The girl started to fade. '_Go to that place…you'll know…_' were the last words he heard before the transparent girl was completely gone from his sight.

Youichi took a last glance at the Sakura tree before he moved his feet to the place the girl had told him. Though he wanted to see Miss Angel if she would drop the feather later, he couldn't help but get curious at what the girl wanted to show him.

It didn't take him more than thirty minutes to reach the Junior High School building. The building was close to the place where the Sakura tree was anyway. Without waiting again, he went to the roof, which he remembered the way because the fire caster always took him to the place before. It was their favorite place after the Sakura tree.

He stepped on the last stair and placed his hand on the doorknob. Turning it slowly, the door to the roof opened.

When the door was fully opened, he saw a black-haired girl lying on the floor with her bag by her side. He quickly approached the girl and knelt down on one knee. His eyes widened in the next second and he stared at the unconscious girl for a while before he murmured, "I must call someone."

Not wasting any time again, he stood up and ran to the door. He went down the stairs and turned at the corner, going to a certain direction. Lucky if he could find someone near there.

But there was something that he couldn't take off from his mind at that time. The image kept showing in his head.

'It's impossible…but…'

His pace got slower until he finally stopped. He panted lightly as he kept his head down.

'But why…the view when she was laying back there…her black hair that covered her face…'

He felt something strike him as he remembered the familiar scene.

'…It's the same…as the time when I found Miss Angel for the first time…'

--To be continued--


	18. 18th Piece: Suspicion

**It had been a few days since the freaky author was sent to the Mars for the second time (the first time is in When I Met You). The four of them lived happily, but not ever after.**

**One day, a few papers dropped onto them, drawing their curiosity out of their minds.**

**Hotaru: (Takes the paper from her head) What's this?**

**Jacklyn: (Takes another paper from the ground) Figures.**

**Natsume: (Leans on the tree trunk and smirks) Now you're working as the garbage picker, sketchbook girl?**

**Jacklyn: (Glares at Natsume) Want to taste my punch? It's good than the sketchbook.**

**Mikan: (Sweat drops) Um…so what does the paper contain of?**

**Hotaru: (Scans the paper) Let's see…**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**18th Piece: Suspicion**

"Ne, Hotaru…"

The aforementioned girl turned her head for a bit to the brunette beside her. Both of them were in the cafeteria by now, eating their lunch with their friends, Anna and Nonoko. It was quite crowded in there, so many of the tables were already being occupied now. They were lucky to get one.

A few seats beside them were empty, exclusively being reserved for their friends who said they would catch up with them later. And there was an empty seat beside the brunette, which was always being glanced at by her now and then.

The raven-haired lass saw this and realized who her best friend had waited for, though she just kept being silent about it.

"What?" she asked the brunette with her trademark stoic face.

Mikan didn't have her eyes on her best friend. Instead, she just stared at her lunch in a brief silence and spoke, "Am I an annoying person?"

As she heard the question, she knew what the brunette talked about. She was still thinking about the incident that happened four days ago. The new girl, Jacklyn, suddenly broke their friendship thread without any reason. That girl just left a warning: not to getting close to her again.

It was so obvious that something had happened to her, forcing her to do that thing. What the inventor didn't understand was…was that girl stupid or afraid of something that she did that thing meekly?

Afraid? Wasn't that too late for her to realize since she had made a few enemies from the beginning?

No. There was something more to it.

"Hotaru?" the brunette called again, snapping her out of her thought.

Hotaru glanced at her. "Should I say it?" she said before she continued eating her lunch.

Mikan had that sad look on her face, which was noticed by Anna and Nonoko. "No. You're not annoying, Mikan-chan," Anna said, trying to cheer her up. "You're a nice person and you always make us happy."

Nonoko nodded and confirmed, "That's right, Mikan-chan."

The brunette managed to show a smile on her face as she heard this. "Thanks, Anna, Nonoko." She then looked down again in the next second. Somehow, she still couldn't get off the feeling that she was annoying. Natsume always said that too. She was annoying.

Mikan heaved a sigh and took a spoon full of rice before she continued speaking, "I thought a few people don't like me because I'm annoying…" Then she shoved the spoon into her mouth and munched her lunch.

Hotaru, Anna and Nonoko remained silent. Without hesitation, the inventor raised an eyebrow and asked, "You just realize it now?" The brunette looked at her with puppy eyes, forgetting that the technique didn't affect the Ice Queen at all. The raven-haired lass poked her forehead, dismissing the pity look from her hazel orbs. "You may be annoying, but you should also realize you have another positive side that makes people around you feel happy. You should believe in yourself."

Anna and Nonoko smiled upon hearing the inventor's wise words. The raven-haired girl maybe looked cold and money-lover, but she cared about her friends, mainly Mikan. She knew what to do to make the brunette happy again.

Just a simple sentence. It was enough to paint a smile on the brunette face.

And it surely worked.

The corners of Mikan's lips tipped up and formed a smile. She hugged the inventor in the next second, saying 'thank you' in a whisper. How happy she was to know that her best friend cared for her.

Surprisingly, Hotaru didn't shoot her with her Baka Gun like usual. She didn't even make any move to pull out the Baka Gun which they believed she kept somewhere in her uniform.

'Just for this once,' the inventor thought as she sighed.

Though she wanted to smile at that time, she held it back and chose to smile inwardly. She was glad that she could make her smile again.

Well, she would take the payment later.

Back to shoot her with the Baka Gun.

-x-

Kokoro Yome was inside the classroom, having fun in reading a few students' minds that he found interesting to be known. While smiling at their thoughts, he packed his things and was ready to go out from the class to catch up with Mikan and the others.

Waving his hand at his other friends, he stepped out from the class and turned to a certain direction when suddenly…

BUMP!

He wasn't too aware at what had just happened. What he knew was the impact made him land on his butt hardly. "Ouch!"

"Hey! Watch where you're going to next time!" a little boy's voice scowled him.

The mind reader opened his eyes and looked at the person that bumped into him. He directly knew the owner of the grey-colored hair and eyes who shot him a glare at that time. "Youichi?"

Youichi got up and dusted his pants. He looked at the mind reader. "Have you seen Onii-chan?" he asked.

Koko got up too and stared at the boy. "No. Why?"

Youichi shook his head then thought for a while. A certain girl was unconscious at the roof and he needed to tell someone. He needed the fire caster now for he wasn't too close to the other and he couldn't find a certain brunette everywhere.

He stared at the mind reader that stood before him. "Do you know the sketchbook girl?" he asked nonchalantly.

"Huh?" The mind reader tilted his head in confusion. 'Sketchbook girl?' he thought as he twisted his brain, trying to remember who the person was.

It didn't take him five minutes to realize who the person that the spirit manipulator talked about. "Oh, you mean Jacklyn-san?"

The other nodded then turned away. "Come with me. She needs help," he said before he started to run, followed by the curious mind reader.

Koko had no idea what the boy meant by 'the girl needed help', but he was sure something happened to her at that time, though he was curious how the boy found out about that. As far as he knew, the boy didn't have any special relationship with the black-haired girl. He ignored her like the other, except when the girl turned to Miss Angel that he admired.

…Only one way to know what he thought about now.

Reading his mind.

Yup, that was the only way. He knew the risk and it would be bad if the boy knew about it. He didn't want to…well, at least, he tried to convince himself that he didn't want to read his mind. But you knew that the curiosity was the biggest enemy in this world, especially for a person like him that could read people's mind.

Just a bit…It wouldn't harm…

While the mind reader concentrated on his alice, Youichi didn't pay too much attention at the older boy's act. What he needed to know was he was still following him. His mind focused on a certain girl that was lying in unconsciousness at the roof and another doubtful matter.

The image of her lying there on the floor couldn't be erased from his mind.

Yes, it was carved clearly in his head as another almost same image also showed up; a girl that lay on the branch of the Sakura tree with a pair of white wings on her back.

He twisted his brain, thinking the possibility that could happen. Maybe it was just a coincidence.

Yes. A coincidence.

Koko gasped silently as he read the young boy's mind. 'He almost found out!' he thought while running. Staring at his back, he knew the boy was getting confused at what he had just seen.

He was between belief and disbelief.

It was just a thin line that separated those two different matters. And it was just about time until he found out one of the secrets that was hidden by her all this time.

After a few turns and stairs, the two of them finally arrived at the roof. Youichi slammed the door open and approached the unconscious girl. Koko followed him from behind, not bothering to close the door. He approached them and knelt beside the little boy, checking on the girl's condition.

Lifting a hand, the mind reader brushed a few strands of hair from her face and touched her forehead. 'She doesn't have fever…' he thought as he stared at her face. 'So why is she lying here and unconscious?'

Wonderment filled his mind. He observed her figure briefly but found no evidence of violence there. He pressed his lips together in curiosity and shifted his gaze back to her calm sleeping face.

All of sudden, her expression changed. The face that looked so peaceful just now showed a pain look. Slowly, her even breathing started changing to a few small pants. Not long afterward, she gasped for air and sweats started to form on her forehead. Seeing this, the two boys exchanged looks.

Something surely had happened to her.

Koko lifted the girl into the sitting position and put both of her hands on his shoulders, carrying her by piggy back. Youichi looked at them until the mind reader turned to him and said, "Please find Sakura and tell her about this. If you couldn't find her, tell Yuu or the others. I'll bring Jacklyn-san to the clinic."

The spirit manipulator usually didn't take any order from the other people, except the fire caster and the animal prince. But in this case, he nodded reluctantly. He hated to admit it, but somehow, he felt something inside him forcing him to agree with the older boy.

The mind reader nodded at him for the last time then went to the door with the girl on his back. Youichi looked at the black-haired girl for the last time before the two of them disappeared behind the door.

After he was sure they couldn't hear him, he turned to face the fences. Hands inside the pockets, he closed his eyes and muttered, "I know you're here. Show yourself up."

For a few minutes, there was no one on the roof except the gray-haired boy himself. But it was how it was seen in a mere human's eyes. In fact, he indeed saw someone standing beside him.

A transparent girl with knee-length dress and shoulder-length red-hair stared at him without expression. She was the same girl that told him to go to the roof at the Junior High School building, where he found the black-haired girl lying unconscious.

As she already knew what the boy wanted when he told her to show up, she opened her pale lips and asked, 'What do you want to ask?'

Youichi glanced at her. "Are you the ghost of this roof?"

The girl stared at him in silence for a few seconds and slowly nodded. _'It's not exactly what you wanted to ask…'_ she then said as she locked her blue eyes at the boy's grey eyes.

He sighed. "I just wanted to know…I've been at this roof for several times and I never sensed your appearance here before. I suspect that you have already slept for a long time but woken up again because of something. Am I right?"

The ghost closed her eyes and leaned on the white steel fence as if she was touchable. _'The girl…her confused and sadness aura called me…it was so strong that I woke up from my slumber…'_ she said. _'I thought…she has the same trouble with me…'_

Arching an eyebrow in confusion, the spirit manipulator turned to her. "Same trouble with you?"

She nodded and lifted her head to face him. _'Before I died, I have a same wish with her. I want someone to be by my side in my happiness and sadness…because I lost my parents and my friends… ' _She looked down. _'My parents were dead in an accident. Since then, I moved from one relative to another. But sadly, they treated me badly…and my friends…they avoided me…I don't know why…I never know…' _

Youichi stared at her in silence, waiting her to finish her story. _'That's why I decided to end my life, sleeping in deep calm slumber for eternal…until this girl's mind pulled me out from my peace slumber…'_

Being alone…

It was the worst thing that could happen in every person's life. The pressure inside your mind could never be brought up and just stayed there, piling up, until one day it exploded.

It was either you could lose your sanity, or commit suicide. But somehow, a few people could survive from those two words of self havoc. That was what the black-haired girl had by now after the event four days ago.

Strangely, she was the one who avoided them when they tried to approach her. Well, it's not him, but a few people like Mikan, Yuu, Anna, and Nonoko.

Could this be one of the possibilities that caused her lying unconscious? Or there's something deeper than that which he didn't know?

Turning away his gaze to the sky, the little boy said, "The difference is…she's the one that broke her friendship with her friends…"

The ghost looked at him and murmured, _'I know. She's confused with what she should choose between her selfishness and their safety…'_ Youichi looked at her again. The ghost smiled then giggling, _'Don't worry, she didn't show any sign that she wanted to commit suicide. She just ditched classes.'_

Heaving a sigh, the little boy inquired, "So…you just woke up from your slumber…huh?"

The girl nodded. _'Why?'_ she asked, curious.

"No…nothing," he murmured.

She looked at him confusedly, wondering what the boy wanted to know beside of what he had asked before. _'Is there anything that you want to ask again?' _she tilted her head, her hands clasped behind her back.

Youichi shrugged his head. "No. You can go back to sleep now," he intoned as he looked at her. The ghost nodded and mouthed 'goodbye' before she started to fade, going back to her deep slumber.

When he was finally alone, the little boy pulled out his right hand from his pocket and put it on the fences. Actually, he wanted to ask the ghost if she knew anything about Miss Angel that showed up more less a week ago. If the ghost could travel from the roof to the Sakura tree when she told him about the unconscious girl, maybe she had ever seen Miss Angel there.

Was Miss Angel the same person with the black-haired girl?

That was what he wanted to ask.

He was a bit upset when he knew that the ghost just woke up, which meant she didn't know anything about the angel. As he recalled his conversation with the ghost, a sentence caught his mind. "Choose between her selfishness and their safety…" he muttered. "I wonder if Onee-chan knows anything about this…"

He gazed around the green field in the Alice Academy from up there. His eyes then caught a certain Sakura tree, the place where the angel should have dropped the feather at lunchtime. But to his dismay, there was nothing at the tree when he arrived there.

"Miss Angel…are you just fine…?" he murmured, not taking his eyes off from the remembrance tree.

He knew no one would answer him. He just wondered…and was a bit worried. The memory where the angel was injured badly still lingered in his mind. It's like it just happened yesterday.

Another five minutes of pondering and he dismissed it quickly, recalling that he still had a request to be done. Walking to the door, he turned the doorknob and opened it, going to search for the brunette as what the mind reader had told him.

If he was lucky, maybe he would find her together with the fire caster.

-x-

"She has overused her alice," the female doctor in the clinic said to the mind reader.

"Overused?" Koko asked, making sure that he didn't hear it wrong. 'What did she do?'

"Yes. She used her power beyond her limit in one or a few blows. It will cause an extreme tiredness and your heart will beat faster because of the lack of air," she explained. "What did she do until she reached this state?"

The lad shook his head. Truth to be told, he didn't know. Youichi was the one that told him about her. When the little boy took him to the roof, he had found her lying there, unconscious. He had no idea what the girl had done that she overused her alice like this. "I don't know. When I found her, she has been unconscious and she started to gasp for air all of a sudden," Koko said.

The doctor just nodded and approached the bed where Jacklyn rested now. She had been calm again not long after the doctor examined her. Before, when he was on the way to the clinic, the girl's condition got worsened every minute. He could just run, murmuring that everything would be okay along the way, hoping that the girl could hear him at that time.

When he finally arrived at the clinic and handed Jacklyn to the doctor, he just realized that his hands trembled badly. He leaned on the wall and took his breath, trying to calm himself. He convinced himself over and over that she would be fine. He must be strong in this situation. He must be strong for his friend.

A few minutes passed and the doctor went out from the clinic, telling him that the girl had overused her alice. Of course he was confused. There was no sign of violence on her body; something like scratch or bruise. So what did she use her alice for?

The mind reader stood on his spot while staring at the black-haired girl who was in her deep slumber. He thought back to the time where he couldn't read her mind. Was there a connection between it and the overuse of her alice?

Letting out a tired sigh, he held his head and approached the empty seat beside the bed where she was lying. He sat down and fixed his eyes on her sleeping face once again.

The girl surely kept many secrets within her small and calm appearance. Before she suddenly blocked her mind from him, he managed to read a few secrets of her past that still haunted her. The past that also had been her reason to stay in this prison when she arrived at the academy and attended the classes there without any hesitation.

She didn't like to be compared to her sister. She had been fed enough with the same complains and babbles about that.

To search for someone that wanted to see the way she was.

That was why she ran from her house, from her old life, from the community behind the cold wall; the wall that separated the academy with the outside crowded world.

Many students wanted to go back to their parents, but she thought the opposite.

Maybe she was still in her rebel state of puberty, being lost inside the maze of her mind.

Well, this was just his theory anyway. He was also only fourteenth for God's sake, the same age with her. He couldn't comment too much while he, himself, was also experiencing the puberty age.

Oh well…

"What took Youichi so long?" he muttered as he leaned his head on the wall, staring at the white ceiling.

BRAK!

"Koko! I heard from Youichi that-" Yuu paused when he saw a sleeping girl on the bed. He looked at Koko who nodded at him. Silently, he went inside the clinic. Behind him, the wavy-blonde haired teacher smiled at the mind reader.

Youichi went in along with him. "I didn't find Onee-chan and the others nearby, just both of them," he said as he pointed Yuu and Narumi.

Koko nodded and smiled. "It's fine. Thank you, Youichi."

The spirit manipulator nodded and went to Yuu's side.

"What happened, Koko?" Narumi asked as he approached him. He saw the mind reader's tired face and got worried. "Are you okay?"

The mind reader nodded once again. "I'm fine, Sensei."

The teacher sighed in relief. "Good." Then his blue purple eyes fixed on the sleeping girl. "Is she alright?" He had been worried when he heard the news from the class representative and the spirit manipulator. Why wasn't he? One of his students was unconscious and the cause was unknown.

"Doctor said that she has overused her alice," Koko said. "I don't know what it's for though, but it looks like she didn't use it for battle like what happened at the kidnapping incident before."

Narumi gave him an understanding look and stared back at the girl. He had gotten wondered at her strange behavior lately. And after what he had heard just now, he knew that something had gone wrong with her.

But how he could make her admit what had happened lately? His alice didn't work on her.

"We have to wait until she tells us herself," was Koko answer after the lad read the teacher's mind.

All of them were silent and just stared at the unconscious girl. They had no choice but to agree with the mind reader's suggestion.

It's the only way they could think of for now…

--To be continued--

**Jacklyn: …Tell me that this isn't real.**

**Mikan: This is real…**

**Hotaru: She told you to tell her that this isn't real, dummy.**

**Natsume: (Raises an eyebrow) What's wrong?**

**Hotaru: (Stares at Natsume and flaps the paper in front of her) This.**

**Natsume: (Takes the paper from Hotaru) What's with this paper?**

**Mikan: She has come back…**

**Jacklyn: And she must be around here.**

**Someone: (Somewhere) WOOHOOO!! I'M BAAACCCKKK!!**

**Hotaru: Looks like you're right.**

**Jacklyn & Mikan & Natsume: …Darn it…**


	19. 19th Piece: That Simple

**A few papers fell on the four once again when they're searching for the freaky author.**

**Jacklyn: (Annoyed) Agh! Just what the hell are these things?! (Grabs a few papers and glares at it)**

**Natsume: They're papers. Can't you see? (Picks up a paper)**

**Mikan: What is it this time? (Stares at the words on a paper)**

**Hotaru: Read it first, stupid. (Grabs the rest of the papers and reads it)**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**19th Piece: That Simple**

She never wanted to do this.

But she must.

She knew how wrong and stupid she was, but she still didn't stop her act.

She knew that one day, she should call this over.

…Only she didn't know when…

Jacklyn looked outside through the window in her dorm room, watching the dark sky that covered the entire Alice Academy. She just finished doing her morning routine and decided to take her time for a while, staying in her room for it was still 6 am in the morning.

Her thought wandered to the day before when she woke up and found herself in the clinic at 9 pm in the night with Koko and Yuu waiting for her. She still remembered their smiles when she finally opened her eyes. She couldn't say that she wasn't happy for that.

To know that there's people waiting for her…

To know that there's people caring for her…

Koko told her about how Youichi found her and asked him for help to bring her here. He also asked her what she had done until she overused her alice. Of course she didn't understand and told them she didn't use her alice.

This brought up a question in her mind, but she was too tired to think at that time. Her body was still worn out from an unknown cause that ate up all her energy. She decided to call the day over and bade the two goodbyes before she went off to her dorm.

She knew those two got wondered and they would try to ask her about why she avoided them recently if she didn't go out from that place hastily.

She heaved a sigh as she trailed her fingers on the slippery glass. She remembered her missing drawing page she held before when she was at the roof. She had asked Koko if he saw a page with a boy drawing in it, but he said he didn't. She guessed the last page had been blown up by the wind, considering the wind was so strong at that time and she lost her grip on the page when she fell unconscious.

She had lost the last remains of the birthday gift from her mother…

The black-haired girl heaved a sigh then turned away from the window. She grabbed her bag from the desk and walked to the door. Walking out from her room, she made sure that she had locked her room before she proceeded her way to the Junior High School building.

Somehow, she had this feeling in her heart.

A cue that something would happen today…

-x-

A certain brunette ran along the corridor to her classroom. She thought she had already been late for her class. And as usual, when she was about to turn, she bumped into something hard…or rather, someone. Whatever it was, it made her fall on her butt.

"Ouch! Sorry!" she apologized as she rubbed her head.

"Watch where you're going, Polka," that someone said irritatingly.

When the brunette heard the familiar voice, she looked up and found a familiar irritated person standing before her. The raven haired boy just stared at her, not bothering to stretch a hand to help her stand up.

Forming a pout on her lips, Mikan stood up and dusted her skirt. "Geez! I'm sorry! You don't have to be like that every morning," she said gruffly.

Natsume, being Natsume, didn't take any heed to her protest. "Whatever," he replied as he walked away.

The brunette puffed her cheek in annoyance at his answer. It didn't take a long time for her to forget her irritation when she remembered something. "Wait! Natsume!" she called while trying to catch up with him, because the raven-haired boy didn't show any sign that he would stop walking even though she called him. "Did you see Jacklyn-chan?" she asked when she had arrived beside him.

"No," he replied simply, not looking at the brunette. Mikan sighed, a bit upset when she heard his cold reply.

She was worried about the drawing alice girl when she heard the quite surprising news from Narumi yesterday.

Well, when it's Narumi's class yesterday, the teacher announced about the black-haired girl's absence before he started his lesson. It was because Mikan asked him and the teacher knew she wouldn't be silent until she got the answer.

He told them the black-haired girl was found unconscious on the roof, and then told the brunette not to be worried about the girl for she had been brought to the clinic. He didn't tell her the detail after that. That just made the brunette wonder at what had happened to the black-haired girl.

When she took a visit to the clinic at lunch time yesterday, the girl was still sleeping and she couldn't ask her what had happened to her. She had asked Koko and Youichi, but the little boy just shook his head, meant he didn't know what had actually happened. Koko also said that he just brought her to the clinic, so he didn't know anything before that.

Mikan had that gloomy expression on her face as she remembered yesterday's event which finally drew the fire caster's attention to her.

"I've checked her room this morning, but there's no response even though I have knocked on her door for the tenth times…" she said sadly. "She has avoided us for four days…I wonder if she'll also avoid us today…"

Natsume didn't say anything. There were a few minutes of silence between them until the brunette realized something. "Where's Ruka?" she asked as she looked round. She couldn't find the blonde-haired boy who usually walked with the fire caster to the classroom.

"Barn," the raven-haired boy replied nonchalantly. "One of the animals is sick."

Her lips from an 'o' shape after she heard his reply. "I hope the animal will get well quickly," she said, feeling sadder after hearing the news. The raven-haired boy didn't give any reaction at this.

After walking for what-it-seemed-like an eternity because the silence engulfed them, they finally arrived at the class. Mikan opened the door and greeted her classmates. "Good morning, everyone!" she said happily. She wouldn't show her sadness in front of them.

But she didn't get any response like usual. The class went silent as they looked at the brunette who was with Natsume at that time. Mikan, who was confused by the sudden silence, asked, "What?" Natsume didn't take any care about the eerie silence and proceeded his way to his seat as Nonoko and Anna approached the brunette.

"Mikan-chan! You came with Natsume! Are you two together now?" Anna asked enthusiastically. Her eyes were sparkling. Nonoko nodded in enthusiasm too.

Behind the two, there was Sumire, who looked like a Medusa with her dangerous aura around her. She looked like she was ready to kill someone. "Is it true, Sakura?" she asked in a dangerous tone. Even though she smiled, there was something not right about her.

Sensing she was in a dangerous situation, the brunette shook her head quickly and said, "No! We just met on the way to the classroom!"

Sumire's dangerous aura started to fade away. The eerie feeling that Mikan felt in the green-haired girl's smile before was gone. The cat-dog alice girl gave her a sweet genuine smile and patted the brunette's shoulder gently.

"That's right. It's impossible that you two get together," she said, a happy tone could be heard in the sentence.

Yeah. So, after four years, Sumire had been a bit soft to the brunette. Sometimes, she treated her as a friend and sometimes as a rival, though she would turn scary if there was unhappy news about her crush, namely Natsume Hyuuga and Ruka Nogi. Like what, you asked? Like if there was something bad happening to them, or the worst for the seaweed girl was the news about the two of them got girlfriends.

It really was a bad, bad news for her…and maybe for the two boys' fan girls.

Mikan smiled back at her, but she felt her smile a bit weird after she saw the green-haired girl's scary mode. Shaking her head, she shooed the feeling away from her mind.

"What's wrong, Mikan-chan?" Nonoko asked with concern, bringing the brunette's attention to her.

"Nothing," the auburn-haired girl answered. After the short play before, the class finally went back to normal, noisy. The brunette had clarified there was nothing between her and the fire caster, so there's no need paying attention to the already ended show.

Mikan was about walk to her seat when she spotted a certain raven-haired girl at the front seat. And as usual, she ran to the stoic inventor while placing a big smile on her face. "HOOTAAAARUUUUUU!!" she shouted as she opened her arms, ready to hug her best friend who looked at her a second after the brunette called her.

BAKA!

Too bad, the brunette dropped on the floor after she got the wrath of Baka Gun. She thought the inventor would let the brunette hug her again after what had happened at the cafeteria yesterday.

Well, she was wrong.

"Ouch! Hotaru! You're so mean!" Mikan whined as she stood up while rubbing her forehead which got shot by the Baka Gun.

The Ice Queen just blew up the smoke from her Baka Gun and turned to her brunette best friend dispassionately. "You know it would happen. But still, you came to me," she retorted with her stoic face.

The brunette smiled. "It's because I want to hug you, Hotaru."

If she thought that she could touch the inventor's cold heart with those words, then she was wrong. "Pay me if you want," Hotaru answered simply then shifted her gaze back to her invention.

Mikan pouted after hearing her best friend's reply. She knew the blackmailer would say that though. Her best friend surely loved money more than everything. After pouting for a while, she remembered something. The pout disappeared from her face and it was replaced by a serious expression.

"Hotaru, did you see Jacklyn-chan? I couldn't find her in her room," She said, hands intertwined behind her.

The Ice Queen looked at her again for a few seconds then moved her head to the side for a bit. The brunette got wondered at her action. "What's wrong with your head, Hotaru?" she asked in confusion.

The aforementioned girl looked at her then muttered, "Stupid." Then she looked back at her invention again, checking on it. At the 'stupid' nickname, the brunette pouted again.

Okay. She may be stupid sometimes, but the raven-haired girl hadn't answered her question.

…Or she had?

"Good morning, Sakura-san," the class representative, Yuu Tobita, greeted the brunette with a smile.

Mikan looked at him and gave him her best smile too. "Good morning, Inchou!" Then she clasped her hand in front of her and said, "That's right! Inchou, did you see Jacklyn-chan? I couldn't find her."

Yuu raised his eyebrows then nodded. "She has arrived at the class even before I arrived. Now, she's sleeping at her seat," he said while looking at a certain direction at the back of the class.

The brunette followed his gaze and she surely saw a certain black-haired girl having her head lain on the desk with her bag beside her. A relief and happy feeling gusted inside her heart as she finally found the person she had been searching for.

"Thanks, Inchou!" she thanked the glasses boy before she went to her seat which was just behind the sleeping girl.

Mikan stopped just beside Jacklyn's desk, intending to see if the girl was really sleeping or not. She couldn't see her face because the drawing alice girl faced the other direction. The nullifier decided to go to her own seat and check on the sleeping girl from there.

In the process, she pushed Natsume for a bit with her shoulder because she wanted to see if the girl still slept or not.

And that just made the fire caster annoyed.

"What are you doing?" he finally asked, irritated. He shut his manga close and looked at the brunette.

"I want to know if she's still sleeping," Mikan said as she kept pushing the raven-haired boy, trying to look at Jacklyn's face.

Natsume glanced at the girl in front of the brunette's seat and found out her eyes were closed. No, he didn't care about the girl. It's just…this brunette beside him would keep on disturbing him until she knew about the black-haired girl's condition.

Heck, why did she care about the sketchbook girl that much? Even when that girl had avoided them for four days, the brunette still cared about her, annoying the fire caster with a bunch of questions about the unknown alice girl.

"She's sleeping," he said in a bored tone. He wished the brunette would be satisfied with his answer, quit disturbing him and go back to her own business whatever it was. He didn't care.

But to his dismay, the brunette didn't get satisfied that easily. "Really? Where? Where?" she asked as she pushed him more.

Natsume got more annoyed with her continual action. Finally, he ran out of his patience. He grabbed her by the waist and pulled her onto his lap. The brunette was immediately shocked with his action and she let out a loud gasp.

At her gasp, all students' attentions turned to them. All of them had their jaws dropped, including Sumire who was also watching the scene. Only two persons that didn't gave such reaction at the scene; Jacklyn, for she was still sleeping at that time, and Hotaru, who started to take a few photos of the two.

"Natsume! What do you think you're doing?!" Mikan shrieked while blushing furiously.

"You kept on pushing me, little girl. It's annoying," he replied irritatingly. "Have you done looking at the sketchbook girl now?"

Upon hearing that, the brunette remembered what she wanted to do. But before she could look at the black-haired girl, Sumire, who was standing near Jacklyn's desk, broke the sleeping girl's desk into two, causing the poor girl to hit the floor and wake up in confusion. Just when she was about to stand…

"SAKURA!!" Sumire's evil shout was heard so loud in her ears, making the black-haired girl annoyed and cover the perm-haired girl's mouth in God's speed, almost slapping her mouth actually. The class' attention turned to the black-haired girl and Sumire.

Jacklyn, who was annoyed because she had been awoken by force, glared at the cat-dog alice girl for ten seconds. Didn't she know that she was tired? Didn't she know that she couldn't sleep last night and she woke up early in the morning? Oh wait. Of course she didn't. But heck, she should realize that there was someone sleeping on the desk and she shouldn't destroy it or scream right beside her with a high-pitch-cracking voice.

"Can't you see that I'm sleeping just now?" she asked dangerously. "You could wake me up with a more kind way, you know." Sumire was irritated at her, but she couldn't retort because her mouth was being covered by Jacklyn.

Pulling back her hand from the furious girl, she picked her bag up from the floor. She dusted it and then looked at Yuu who was staring at them with a shocked face. Poor boy. "Tobita, is this already break time?" she asked with sleepy eyes. Hell, she didn't get enough sleep, thanks to the seaweed-haired girl who was freezing beside her now.

Yuu recovered from his shock after he heard the sleepy girl ask him a question. Why not? There were three continuous shocking incidents that happened in just a few minutes; from Natsume and Mikan to Sumire, and lastly, to Jacklyn. "Um…Not yet, Jacklyn-san," he replied.

Hearing that, the black-haired girl nodded a bit at him, giving him her gratitude for answering her question. After that, she averted her gaze to Sumire, more like glare…

Of course the seaweed-haired girl glared back at her.

"So, why did you wake me up that rough? It hurts," she said while gritting her teeth, trying to hold back her angriness.

Of course Sumire didn't want to be blamed. She acted that way because there was something that made her furious. Now, she was going to show the girl who should be blamed. "Ask that Sakura!" She scowled as she pointed to a direction, which was exactly behind the black-haired girl.

Grunting, Jacklyn turned her head to the direction which Sumire pointed. What thing that was more important than her sleep anyway?

There, she saw Mikan still sitting on Natsume's lap. She didn't react at the view for a while. No wide-eyed, no jaw dropped, and no shock. She was expressionless.

Sumire believed the girl would be shocked after a few seconds…just a few seconds again…

"Good morning, Mikan, Natsume," Jacklyn greeted the two as if nothing happened, a smile visible on her face.

All students fell on the floor anime-style, except for Hotaru and Natsume who remained expressionless, and Mikan who was froze at the black-haired girl's sudden change, from irritated to a kind one. The rest of the class didn't understand why that scene didn't shock the just awakened girl.

For Jacklyn, it's not something incredible. Yes. What's the big deal about the brunette sitting on the fire caster's lap anyway? Fan girls…

Jacklyn looked back at Sumire who just stood up again. "What's with them anyway? You disturbed my sleep for nothing," she said in annoyance as she sat back on her seat, which fortunately didn't break into two pieces too.

The seaweed-haired girl's anger finally passed the boil point. "YOU SAID IT'S NOTHING COMPARE TO YOUR SLEEP?!" she shouted as her face got reddened. Oh man, fan girls and their emotions…

The black-haired girl put her right palm on her face then sighed. "Can't you be quiet? I have a hard time to sleep and now you're bugging me. Plus, you broke my desk. How can I study now, Permy?" she muttered annoyingly.

"DON'T CALL ME PERMY ALL YOU WANT, SKETCHBOOK GIRL!!" Sumire shouted as she clenched a firm fist in front of the irritated girl.

Jacklyn glared at her. Why did she still call her sketchbook girl? After these four days, didn't the perm-haired girl realize that she didn't have any sketchbook with her again? Darn…it just reminded her of the ruined thing which the remains was still being kept by her.

She could feel her emotion start to flare up then decided to go away from the place before it blew up. Jacklyn then stood up. "I don't have any sketchbook," she said as she took her bag and walked away from the 'incident' spot.

But Sumire didn't want to call the mouth-fight over that fast. "I HAVEN'T DONE WITH YOU!!" She got angrier as she pointed at the walking girl. "COME BACK HERE, SKETCHBOOK GIRL!!"

The said girl stopped abruptly on her track. The silence filled the classroom as the audience waited for what would happen next. Would there be another mouth fight or maybe an alice duel?

"I thought I have told you that I don't have any sketchbook," she said calmly from her current standing spot, not bothering to look at the furious girl. All students were still silent, watching the whole scene.

Too bad. Short temper could never be erased from a person's personality, except they wanted to learn how to manage their anger. "Are you challenging me?" Sumire growled, still not understanding the tense situation.

Jacklyn finally turned to the green-haired girl and stared at her firmly. She didn't feel any anger inside her. She felt something deeper…

Was it a misery? She didn't know. She kept her eyes locking at the other girl and calmly said, "You're the one who challenges me."

Sumire smirked. "Then let's get started," she said as she activated her alice.

No. She didn't want to fight for now. She felt so tired and passionless. Heaving a sigh, Jacklyn opened her mouth for a bit and muttered, "Too bad…I can't…" Then she turned away and proceeded her way to the door.

"Scared, are we?" the cat dog alice girl mocked her as she folded her arms in victory, at least that what she thought.

Jacklyn stopped on her way, and this time, she didn't look back. "…No…I just can't…" were her last words the class could hear before she disappeared behind the door in the next five seconds.

A certain brunette didn't let go off her gaze from the black-haired girl since the girl woke up. Her big hazel eyes followed her motion since then.

Not long after the drawing alice girl walked out from the room, Mikan got up from the fire caster's lap, which this action of hers got the attention from the class once again. She quickly ran to the door. And before she could lay her hands on the doorknob, the door was opened.

For a second, she thought the girl came back to the class. She was a bit happy. "Jack-" she paused when she saw it wasn't the person that she meant.

It's Narumi, their teacher on the first session that day.

When the teacher saw the brunette in front of him, he smiled. "What's wrong, Mikan-chan?"

Mikan just stood there with her bangs covering her eyes. She didn't answer the teacher's question which made the teacher confused to see her unusual act. He averted his gaze from the brunette to the class. All students froze on their spots and they were silent. The wavy-blonde haired man got more confused when he saw his students' strange behaviors.

"Jacklyn-san just went out from the class," Hotaru managed to say as the representative of the silent class. Even the real representative also fell silent.

Instead of placing a surprised expression on his face, the teacher smiled. "Ah, yes. She said she doesn't feel so good, so she asked for my permission to skip my class," Narumi said lightly.

Upon hearing that, the brunette looked up at him. Staring intently at him, she asked, "Narumi-sensei, can I catch up with her?"

The teacher lowered his head to her level then patted the brunette's head. "She need some time to be alone, Mikan-chan," he whispered lowly so it was just her that could hear it.

Surprised, the brunette whispered back, "You know?"

Narumi smiled. "I know, Mikan-chan. Her face couldn't hide it," he said as he straightened himself. "But if you insisted, then how about if I give all of you an assignment?" the man asked the silent class. All students groaned upon hearing the 'assignment' word.

"It's easy. Do it with your partner, okay?" Narumi signaled the brunette to go back to her seat and convince her partner to do the assignment with her. Mikan could just nod in agreement and went back to her seat.

She wasn't sure that her partner would agree to do the assignment with her though, considering that the fire caster didn't care about it. He didn't even care if his partner would pass the subject or not. Oh man…

Narumi clapped his hands to get his students' attentions. He plastered a big smile on his face as he announced, "So, the assignment is…"

"We'll do it!" the one and the only mind reader, Kokoroyume, cut off the teacher's sentence.

The class' attention was now full at him. The students got wondered what assignment was when they heard the goofy mind reader agreed to do the unsaid-yet assignment with passion, including the brunette. "What's the assignment, Koko?" Mikan asked, excited.

Koko looked at the brunette and smiled. Happily, he answered her question, "Find Jacklyn-san!"

As she heard the mind reader's answer, a smile slowly crept onto her face. Joy erupted in her mind. She was absolutely glad to do this assignment. "Let's go, Natsume!" she said as she dragged the raven-haired boy, who grunted in annoyance and looked like wanted to burn the brunette at that time.

It's good that he didn't do it for real or her killer shriek would already be heard by now.

After Mikan left the class with Natsume, the other students exchanged glances. They got excited when they heard what the assignment was and then followed the two going out from the class to finish the assignment.

Yes, even Sumire.

Even though she muttered incoherent words angrily, she followed the others anyway.

-x-

Jacklyn stopped her step. Looking up, she found herself standing inside the room in the building where she fought the fan girls a few days ago. She then averted her gaze to the bracelet on her right wrist and lifted it up. She pressed her lips on it lightly and a hologram screen appeared.

A man with silver-blue haired showed up on the screen. A small simple smile graced his face. The usual blue mask covered his face from his forehead until above his nose. Jacklyn never thought that she would see him again until a week later after her conversation with him last time. "_Well, if it's not Little Angel…_"he said calmly. "_What's wrong?_"

"Can you come now? I get permission to skip the class," she said with a stoic face.

"_No problem._"

After he said the words, the screen disappeared. Jacklyn stared at the bracelet for a while then inserted it back to her sleeve and sighed. She realized that she couldn't turn back again. The reason why she asked him to come was because she wanted to ask many things about the training that he would give her later.

Not only that…

Somehow, she had this feeling that he had another intention when he offered her his help. She just wanted to make sure what it was.

"Why are you sighing, Little Angel?"

The black-haired girl was startled by the voice, thinking that she had been found out by another person. She turned to the voice's direction and saw the silver-blue haired man leaning on the wall near the entrance.

"You startled me," she said, having her hands in front of her chest as a spontaneous act when she was surprised a second ago.

The man chuckled. "The Little Angel could be startled too, huh?" he said.

"I'm not an angel. I'm just a human," Jacklyn retorted as she calmed herself down. She knew that nickname was because he saw her when she thrust her wings drawing to herself. At that time, she activated her alice, causing a pair of white wings to appear on her back and make her look like an angel.

Though she wasn't one.

"So, what do you want to talk about at our midnight meeting a few days again? I'm a bit curious, so I called you now," she intoned.

Still with the calm smile on his face, he approached the girl. "I want to explain what you have to do in exchange for my training."

'Bingo.' Jacklyn sighed inwardly. She was right about having a feeling that the man had another intention behind his kind offer. Not too good, but she had to know what his intention first. "What is it?" she asked, trying to lure him to say out his real intention.

"You know Natsume Hyuuga?" he asked as he stopped a few meters in front of her.

It's the ridiculous question she ever heard. Of course she knew the troublesome fire caster, considering she had had a problem with the raven-haired boy since the first time she attended the class. Rolling her eyes in annoyance as she remembered the conceited boy, she asked, "What's with him?"

The man still smiled at her, though he knew the girl was annoyed when she heard the name. "He is a great asset to this academy. But do you know that his alice will shorten his lifespan every time he overuses it? Don't you want to help him?" he asked, suddenly showing his concern.

The black-haired girl somehow had the urge to say 'no' directly after he asked her the question.

…Scratch that. She was just kidding.

She got wondered when she heard the man ask her the question. 'Help him? But how?' Jacklyn arched an eyebrow. "How? I'm going to missions too?" she asked back. "So, I'll be one of the academy's tools too? But I heard that only the Dangerous Ability class which will be used for academy's purposes."

If that's right…then darn her and her decision. She just sold herself to the academy. Not that she hated the academy, she just didn't like being used for the academy's purposes like what Mikan had told her before.

The man let out a soft chuckle. "No. This isn't for the sake of the academy, but for the sake of you and your friends. You'll just be going to missions which are taken by Hyuuga," he explained. "I choose you because I think your alice is an unique one and it will be a great help for him, if you know what I meant…"

Great help? Her alice could be a great help for that conceited boy? The man must be kidding. She even hardly could defend herself and he said that her alice could help the boy?

Jacklyn blinked, still confused by his words. "I don't understand what you meant with my alice is an unique one. I think everybody's alice is an unique one," she exclaimed.

The man nodded twice in understanding while lifting both of his hands, as if he tried to calm an outrage criminal. "Okay. Nevermind that," he said. He brought his gaze to her and locked it with her dark-brown eyes. "So, you haven't changed your mind then?"

Jacklyn didn't break the eyes contact. Instead, she kept her eyes locked into his too. "If that's the condition that I have to agree as the exchange of the training you'll give me later, then I'm fine with it," she said firmly. She was a bit curious why she was the one that he chose to help the boy.

There's something deeper behind this training matter…

"But one thing that you should know," she added as she raised her index finger in front of him.

"Yes?"

"I don't care about that cocky boy. I do this to strengthen myself and to protect my friends," she stated clearly.

Chuckling, he asked, "Are you too shy to admit that you care about him?"

At his question, Jacklyn threw a hard glare to him. "No," she replied simply and firmly, no hesitation in her answer.

Of course. She didn't care about the cocky boy even a bit! Heck, no!

A smile appeared back on his face. "Whatever you say, Little Angel," he said. "I'll make you stronger than you are now in short period."

"Your prediction?"

"More or less a month," he replied certainly, "…starting from tonight."

Jacklyn realized that the man forwarded their schedule, but she just let it go. More fast, more good. "I hold your words." She started to walk out from the building.

But before she was out from that place completely, the man called her. "By the way, you still remember my name, right? It's Hirai!" he said loud enough for the girl to hear.

Jacklyn stopped on her way. "…Will the human pheromone alice make me spoil our conversation all this time?" she asked without looking at him. Surely, she was afraid that the blonde wavy-haired teacher would know all of this if he used his alice on her one day.

And she didn't want it to happen.

"No. That bracelet is made to protect you from all alices that could meddle with your mind, including the pheromone alice. You don't need to worry," he answered smoothly.

"…Thank you, Hirai-san…" she muttered before she resumed her way to go out from the building.

After Jacklyn was out from the sight completely, Hirai smiled to no one. "You're really an angel…" he whispered in satisfaction.

-x-

'…Can I totally trust him …?' the black-haired girl thought in silence while walking on the grassy ground. She was too deep in her thought at that time and just went out from the forest when someone called her name.

"Jacklyn-san?"

Initiatively, she turned her head to the voice's direction and saw a familiar blonde-haired boy with a pair of cerulean eyes approaching her.

"…Ruka?" she said unsurely. She was sure the class hadn't been over. 'Why is he here?'

Ruka smiled as he arrived beside her. "What are you doing here?" he asked kindly.

"I'm just taking a walk," Jacklyn lied. She had decided the conversation would be a secret and no one should know about this. It wasn't that necessary to tell them too anyway. "And you?" she asked back.

"I'm just from the barn," he replied.

"Something happened to the animals?"

"One of them. The squirrel is sick."

Jacklyn formed her lips to an 'o' shape in understanding. "I hope it will get better soon." She smiled.

"Yeah, me too." Ruka smiled back then the two of them walked side by side.

Both of them were on the way to Junior High School building when they passed the famous Sakura tree. At that time, they saw a figure standing under the tree. The figure was looking up to one of the branches, waiting for something.

The two exchange glances and nodded before they walked approaching the standing figure. After a few meters from the tree, they recognized who the figure was.

"Youichi!" Ruka called.

The aforementioned person turned to their direction. "Ruka nii-chan…sketchbook girl…" he uttered the last nickname in annoyance.

Jacklyn sweat dropped at the nickname. 'Must be the Natsume's teaching…' she thought. Yeah, who would call her with that nickname other than the fire caster? Oh wait. There were a few persons who called her that.

The animal prince chuckled at the nickname which he knew the little boy had learnt from his best friend. "Her name's Jacklyn, Youichi," he told the spirit controller.

"Whatever," Youichi replied coldly as he stared back at the branch of the tree.

The black-haired girl wondered when she stared at Youichi who kept looking at the tree branch for a quite long time. "What's wrong with the tree branch?" she asked, curious.

And her kind question just earned a glance from the little boy and "None of your business" as his answer. 'Mini Natsume,' the girl thought as she sighed. She was really wondering what that little boy thought or waited fo-

'Oh!' Jacklyn eyes widened as she remembered something. Because she was thinking about the fan girls too much and also too busy avoiding a few certain people, she forgot to put the feather for a few days!

"Oh! Darn it!" she said out loud while slapping her own forehead, catching the two boys' attentions.

"What's wrong, Jacklyn-san?" Ruka asked, confused.

"Oh, it's nothing," she quickly replied before she shifted her gaze to the younger one. "…Are you waiting for Miss Angel?" she asked, making Ruka and Youichi look at her once again.

Youichi looked at her in suspicion. "How do you know, sketchbook girl?" he asked, a bit rude.

The girl stared at him sadly as she remembered her already gone sketchbook. But then, she smiled. "Koko ever talked about it. Remember?" Youichi averted his gaze back to the tree branch. 'Oh no…He's very upset,' she thought in guilt.

"She didn't fulfill her promise and she also didn't come to visit me too…" the little boy muttered, upset.

'Sorry, Youichi…' Jacklyn thought while looking at the upset little boy. She knew it was her stupidity for forgetting her own promise to him. She was too busy thinking about herself that she forgot about him.

She must fix this fault of hers.

"She'll fulfill her promise today…I think…" the black-haired girl said. "You have to believe in her. She must have something to do that she couldn't fulfill her promise."

'Yup. Something selfish to do…' she added in her thought.

As he heard her explanation, the little boy looked at her. "Why are you so sure?" he asked. 'It couldn't be…'

Jacklyn sighed and plastered a smile on her face. "Think more positive, Hijiri. She doesn't fulfill her promise doesn't mean she hates you," she tried to cheer him up. "Plus, you're skipping your class now. Is that okay with you?"

Youichi kept his eyes on her. "You're also skipping your class, sketchbook girl. Don't lecture me," he said annoyingly.

"Ah that's right! Narumi-sensei's class!" Ruka remembered. Jacklyn forgot that the two didn't know she asked for the teacher's permission to skip the class.

"I-"

"Ruka-pyon! You-chan! Jacklyn-chan!" a cheery voice cut off the black-haired girl's sentence.

The three said person looked at the source of the voice, seeing a certain brunette running to their direction while dragging the famous Natsume Hyuuga.

"Sakura?" Ruka was confused to see those two at the place. "It is Narumi-sensei's class right now, isn't it?"

The brunette approached them while panting lightly. "We got an assignment from Narumi-sensei!!" she said happily.

"What is it?" Jacklyn asked, wondering what the assignment was that it could make the brunette do it gladly. It's quite unusual for her to be that happy when they got an assignment.

"It looks like Ruka-pyon is the first one who finished it," Mikan added, a bit upset. But then, she showed her bright smile. "But it's okay!" These words of hers made the three got more confused at what assignment Narumi gave them.

Whatever it was, the blonde-haired boy could be relaxed for the brunette announced that he had finished the assignment. But no matter how relax he was, the curiosity still engulfed him.

"Okay. What's the assignment?" Ruka asked.

Mikan's smile brightened. "Find Jacklyn-chan!" she answered happily, which was quite confusing and surprising the three with the answer. "And we are the second persons that found her! Isn't it great, Natsume?"

Too bad. The said boy's reaction at the assignment wasn't the same with his bubbly partner. The fire caster had this gloomy, or rather, scary expression on his face. It was clear that he didn't welcome the task happily. "Tch. What a stupid assignment," he grunted in annoyance.

Jacklyn bent her eyebrows in annoyance. She knew that this was a stupid assignment. To find her? It's very stupid. But as she remembered she should help that cocky boy in his missions, she felt like to hit him right now. "I would have smacked your head if only I still have my sketchbook in my hand," she murmured as she glanced to the other direction.

The brunette looked at the two. She knew those two never got along, and maybe wouldn't, but for now, she chose to ignore the crimson-eyed boy's remark. "Sorry, Jacklyn-chan. We have seen what has happened with your sketchbook…" she apologized, a sad expression on her face.

Jacklyn looked at the brunette. Of course she couldn't forget the incident six days ago. But the brunette didn't have to apologize. It's not her fault anyway. "It's okay. It's not your fault my sketchbook be like that…"

'_I can protect myself!'_

'_You can't help anyone, non-alice girl.'_

'_I have no friend. You have no one to threat me.'_

'_If we ever see you with someone, you know what will happen to them if you're still messing around with our Natsume.'_

'_A WEEK DOESN'T MEAN WE'RE FRIENDS!!'_

Jacklyn remembered those words.

Those words that Marika said…

Those words that she said…

It was still heard clearly in her ears.

'_I'll protect my friends with my own way._'

…Yeah…Then why…after saying that, she avoided them? And could she avoid them forever…?

After thinking for a few seconds, she chuckled then giggled. Youichi, Ruka, Mikan, and Natsume looked at her, wondering what she was laughing at. "What's wrong, Jacklyn-chan?" the brunette asked as she tilted her head in bewilderment.

The mentioned girl shook her head. "Nothing," she said, still laughing softly. 'Why did I always end up with them? I'm stupid,' she thought, a bit happy. 'I can't avoid them that easily. Not if they're still wandering around me. What a stupid person I have been…'

Wondering why the girl kept on laughing, the brunette called her once again. "Jacklyn-chan?"

The other members of Mikan's usual gang came to the Sakura tree after a few seconds, right when her laugh subsided. The black-haired girl straightened herself and smiled at the brunette. She didn't know if they would forgive her if she did this, but that would be another problem later.

"…I would like to say…sorry…I have been rude to all of you six days ago. I'm very sorry," she apologized from her heart as she bowed to them. "I couldn't think of anything at that time…"

Hotaru raised an eyebrow as she saw this. "Why so suddenly?"

Jacklyn looked up, still with her apologizing smile on her face. "I just realized when I thought back to the last five days where I avoided all of you…No matter what happened, I always ended up with you guys. There's no way I can avoid all of you if it stays like that," she said. She had decided.

_If they're after my friends, then I have to protect them…_

"So…we are back to usual?" Mikan asked, excited.

"Mmhm." Jacklyn nodded as she smiled.

_And to protect them, I have to strengthen myself…_

"Jacklyn-chan, it's so good to have you back!" Nonoko held the black-haired girl's hands in hers.

"Thank you, Nonoko. Me too. It's very good to have all of you as my friends," Jacklyn said.

_No matter what it will cost…_

"So, we have done the assignment then." Koko smiled.

"Should we go back to report to Narumi-sensei?" Yuu asked.

"Yes! Let's go!" Anna replied fervently.

_Even if it's my life…_

"Let's go back then. You too, Youichi," Ruka said. The spirit manipulator nodded then followed them.

"I never said I'm your friend," Natsume muttered.

"Natsume! I've told you thousands times!" Mikan complained.

Jacklyn looked at the two then giggled. "You two can make a great couple, you know?" she said while giggling.

"NO WAY!" both Natsume and Mikan denied at the same time. The others laughed, except Hotaru and Youichi who smiled secretly.

_Because they're my friends…_

_And it's just that simple._

--To be continued--

**Mikan: … (Faints in the next second)**

**Jacklyn: … (Eyes swirl)**

**Natsume: (Eyebrows bend in annoyance) …What the hell…**

**Hotaru: …Does she try to kill someone with this extra-super-long chapter?**

**Natsume: (Looks at Hotaru) Who?**

**Hotaru: The three of you.**

**Mikan: … (Still fainting)**

**Jacklyn: … (Veins pop out)**

**Natsume: …I feel like kicking her right now… (Vein pops out)**

**Hotaru: You should get her first.**

**Someone: HAHAHAHAHA!! YOU WON'T GET ME!!**

**Natsume: …I should give her a bonus punch.**


	20. 20th Piece: Back Up

**Four persons walked on a green field. You already knew who they were. Mikan glanced at Jacklyn who had a sour face along the way.**

**Mikan: (Sweat drops) Jacklyn, why does your face look like you want to eat someone right now?**

**Jacklyn: (Murmurs in annoyance) I surely want to eat someone right now.**

**Mikan: (Sweat drops) Uh…Cheer up for a bit!**

**Jacklyn: …My head is still hurt because of the previous chapter…How could she do that while she doesn't own Gakuen Alice and its characters? …Okay, I'm her character…Darn it…**

**Mikan: Uh…**

**Natsume: …Weakling…**

**Jacklyn: (Glares dangerously at Natsume) …I'll kill you for this…**

**Natsume: (Rolls eyes) Like you can.**

**Jacklyn: Of course I can.**

**Mikan: Stop it, both of you!!**

**Hotaru: Idiots…**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**20th Piece: Back Up**

Her eyebrows twitched when she saw many photos scattering on the desk in front of her. "What is this?" Marika watched in disgust.

She and her members were inside the room where they usually met. At first, they just talked about simple and relaxed things, until one of the girls showed them a pile of photos with a certain black-haired girl in the picture.

They were the photos of Jacklyn with her friends in many activities.

Suzuka walked to Marika's side to get clearer view of the photos. "…What's the meaning of this, Yurika?" the ice alice user asked, her eyes staring at the curly brown-haired girl in front of her.

"They're the photos of the non-alice girl for about one month after the day we threatened her, Houji-sama," Yurika said. "It looks like our threat has no effect on her. Though she avoided them for the first week, she got along with them again after that."

BANG!

The loud sound startled all the girls in the room. Their eyes automatically locked on a certain direction where the sound came from just now. It came from Marika's hands which just made a hard contact with the desk.

"That non-alice girl…" she growled angrily.

All girls stayed quiet after they heard their leader's dangerous tone as if she wanted to kill someone there right now. All of them couldn't help but wonder why she hated the non-alice girl so much. It's not like that girl harmed them. The fan girls started to lose their purpose to torture the black-haired girl.

The reason was simple. They had no reason to do it.

And they just realized it now when they saw their leader's over hatred to the black-haired girl. It's not because the girl was messing around with the fire caster again. It's about something else; a reason they didn't know.

"I have an idea."

All girls turned to the voice that broke the silent just now. Suzuka was still standing calmly beside Marika, her arms folded in front of her chest. The leader looked at the light green-haired girl, waiting for her to continue. "Why don't we blow her cover up? I have heard from Yurika about what happened on the first day you encountered with her," she said.

Marika stared at her for a while. "You mean…the time when she showed up the wings on her back?"

The wind alice user nodded. "We've failed to blow her cover back then. But now, if we have evidence…"

The black wavy-haired girl sneered. "Why not? That's a good idea," she muttered as her smirk widened.

-x-

Run. Glide. Punch. Duck. Kick. Glide. Run again.

"Okay. Enough!"

Jacklyn immediately plopped on the cold floor after Hirai said that. "I'm beat!" she wailed as she lay her back on the floor. Her chest made a quick up and down motion as she panted heavily, catching her breath.

It was 11 pm at night and she just finished her training with Hirai. The training itself was done inside the building where the fan girls kidnapped Anna before. Jacklyn had to sneak out carefully from the dormitory at night so she could go to this place for the training. That was why Hirai taught her how to jump and sneak as her first training to make her secret sneaking-out act easier.

"It's just about three weeks and you've done a good improvement. You've worked hard." Hirai knelt beside her as he stared at the worn-out girl, smiling.

She glanced at him. The man was still smiling at her. It was too bad that she couldn't see his full expression at that time because the blue mask covered a half of his face. She could just see his smiling lips. She had to thank him for the training. Though she hadn't gone into any mission, she could feel a bit change inside her; more courage, more strong, and more confidence.

But no matter how much enthusiasm she had for the training, she was just a mere girl and she felt quite tired now. "We have trained for three hours. Can I go back to my room now?" she asked, hoping her so-called trainer would let her get some rest.

…But what's with the widening smile on her trainer's face?

"Too bad. Today you have to do your first mission, Little Angel," he said, chuckling.

Jacklyn groaned when she heard this. This wasn't what she expected. "Oh man…I'm tired…" she complained as a sigh came out from her lips.

"No can't do, Little Angel. Remember the exchange." The man stood up.

Rolling her eyes in submission, she also stood up. She looked at him for a while as a question suddenly appeared in her mind. "Why are you so concerned about Natsume anyway?" she asked.

Yes, she was a bit wondering about that. She was sure Hirai wasn't one of the teachers in the Alice Academy. She hadn't heard anyone talking about him. Even if he was one of them, why did he tell her not to tell anyone about their conversation and secret training? Moreover, it's to help the fire caster.

But if he was an outsider, why did he care about the cocky boy?

Hirai caught her gaze on him. When he saw curiosity glint in her eyes, he just smiled and said, "Because he's precious to someone."

The black-haired girl blinked twice at his simple reply. "That's the first time I heard you talking about someone precious," she remarked.

He let out a small chuckle at her remark while taking out something from inside his black jacket. Jacklyn wondered what the thing was. In his hand, there was a small wing-shaped note and it was attached to a silver necklace. He brought the necklace above her head and slowly put it down around her neck.

"What is this?" the black-haired girl asked as she eyed the note which was hanging in front of her chest, though she inwardly admitted she liked the cute note.

"Your weapon," Hirai replied shortly as he gave her a pencil with a silver wing-shaped ornament on the top of it.

"Oh." Jacklyn took the pen and stared at it. She realized the pencil suited the sketchbook; both of it had wing shape. "Thank you, Hirai-san. It's a nice gift."

The man nodded. "You better draw some weapons before you go to the mission," he suggested while chuckling.

She blinked. "Now you said it." She brought the book in front of her, opened it and started to draw some weapons on the small sketchbook; one on each page.

Silence fell between them as the black-haired girl concentrated to draw, just a faint brushing sound when the pencil made contact with the flat surface of the paper could be heard inside the building.

Keeping his gaze at her, Hirai asked, "You still don't care about that Hyuuga boy?"

Her hand stopped drawing as she heard him mention the fire caster's surname. A big vein popped on her head and her hold on the pencil tightened. "You know what?!" she started as she pressed the tip of the pencil hardly on the paper. "That boy refused to help me and Mikan doing our Math assignments again! I can't believe I still could stand being his partner until now!" she protested while drawing in God speed because of annoyance.

Hirai chuckled again, seeing her reaction and expression at that time was so funny. "It looks like the boy really pisses you off," he said.

"Absolutely!" Jacklyn exclaimed, annoyed. "Done!"

The man raised an eyebrow in amusement at the girl's speed when she was annoyed. "You've done it? Now you just need a disguise so he won't recognize you," he suggested.

Nodding, the black-haired girl placed the tip of the pencil on the surface of the small notebook again. "Okay…wait a minute…" Jacklyn drew again. When she was done, she touched her drawing. A waist length black-colored wig with fringes appeared on her hand. She immediately put the wig on her head neatly.

She turned to her back and had been ready to go when the man called her. "Your face hasn't been covered," he reminded.

Groaning, Jacklyn opened the small sketchbook once again and drew something on it again. She then put her right palm on the drawing and a white mask appeared on her hand. The white mask had golden ornament on the forehead and around the eyes part. Letting out a small sigh, she put the mask on. She turned back to the silver-blue haired man, giving him the view of her masked-face. "Is it okay now?" she asked. Hirai nodded in satisfaction.

Jacklyn turned to her back and was about to go when she heard the man said, "Do you know what you should do?" The black-haired girl groaned again, earning a small chuckle from him. Her frowning face stopped the man from chuckling more, though a small smile was still on his face. "Now I'll explain to you what you should do," he started. "Your job is to make sure that he can escape from the place safely. That means you will work behind the screen. If you can, don't show up yourself in front of him. Just show up if the situation forces you to."

Raising her right palm to get his attention, she said, "Hirai-san, sorry, but I have to say this."

Hirai raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"…Somehow, I have this feeling that I'll show myself in front of him in this first mission…" she muttered in submission. Oh yeah, she always saw it in a few movies. Though the heroes were told not to show themselves, they would show up in the end. What a cliché…

"We'll see that later. Just relax and think this is some kind of mid-exam," he said, trying to cheer her up.

The girl frowned. "Those words don't help at all," she commented while rolling her eyes. "It just makes me feel tenser…" Hirai chuckled again. Jacklyn bent her eyebrows in annoyance at his chuckle and turned to her back. "I'll go now."

But before she could take five steps, he said, "Don't tell him that I'm the one who sends you or who you are." She just nodded and kept walking. "And…do you know where you should go?"

That question reminded her. She didn't know where to go.

Another groan escaped from her lips again as she realized it. Hirai just gave her another chuckle at her reaction.

…Darn…

-x-

It was late at night when the moonlight was hiding behind the clouds. Cold wind lingered in the air silently, adding a creepy feeling in that night.

Inside a thirty floors building, a guard patrolled around, checking if there was still someone inside the building. The only illumination that he had came from a small flashlight in his right hand. The only sound that accompanied him was the sound of his own footsteps and the ringing sound which came from the hanging keys on the right side of his pants.

Not affected by the eerie silent night, he kept on patrolling while whistling a song. He was about to turn at a corner when suddenly…

THUD!

His eyes turned blank then he fell flatly on the floor. Behind him, a figure that wore a cat mask stood with one hand in the air. "That makes ten," the figure muttered and proceeded his way to his destination. A grunt could be heard from him while he ran through the corridor quietly.

He knew perfectly why he was in the building that night. He had an important mission he couldn't fail. He remembered what his so-called teacher said to him before he went to this place.

'_Your mission tonight is to retrieve a document from Att Company. They keep information about the alice users abroad trading. And be sure to take it wholly, even though it means you have to use your alice to max. I hope you won't disappoint me, Natsume.' _

Another grunt escaped from his lips as he recalled about it. 'Darn that Persona! I just came back from a mission and he gave me another mission! What does he think I am? A killer machine? Darn him!'

Just then, his chest started to ache. Natsume fell on his knees as he tightly clutched the front of his shirt with his left hand, trying to hold back the pain, his right hand leaning on the wall for support. 'No…Not now…' he thought hardly while gritting his teeth, bracing himself to stand the pain in his chest.

When the pain subsided for a bit, he slowly looked up and saw his destination in front of him, the president director's room. Using his right hand which was leaning on the wall, he tried to stand up. He then leaned the right side of his body on the wall and walked to the door limply.

When he finally arrived in front of the door, he touched the doorknob and knew it was locked. Activating his fire alice, he melted the doorknob easily and pushed the door open. He glanced to the left and right to make sure it was safe then walked into the dark room.

"Searching for this, Black Cat?"

Natsume snapped his head to the voice's direction, which was in front of him. He saw a tall male figure with a neat black hair sitting on the desk while holding a brown envelope in his right hand. From his formal black-colored suit, the fire caster guessed he was the president director himself.

"Good evening, Black Cat." He sneered.

Natsume didn't respond. He focused his eyes to the brown envelope in the man's right hand. Without thinking again, he leapt forward and the brown envelope was gone from the man's hand in a second. In the next second, he appeared again behind the man, but something was bugging his mind.

It was too easy.

'Something's not right…' he thought as he turned to his back, facing the man's back. The man turned to him calmly and a smirk plastered on his face. Seeing the smirk, Natsume knew his feeling was right.

Something indeed was wrong here.

The lad quickly moved forward as he activated his alice, but how surprised he was when there's no sign of his alice anywhere. If his alice had been activated, the man should have been burnt or the fire had surrounded them by now. He abruptly stopped his action and looked at his hand, trying to make a small fire from it. But nothing came out. 'How can-'

"What's wrong? Surprise?" the man cut off his thought.

Natsume looked up. The man was standing near the door which he just went in right now. Behind him, many guards were ready on their positions, blocking his way to escape from the room.

It took him not too long to realize what had caused his alice didn't work. 'Barrier alice…' he thought irritatingly. He looked around, searching for another way out. There was a window behind him. Oh yeah, he could jump out from there, but he would arrive at heaven immediately. Had he said he was on the top floor? Which meant he was on the thirtieth floor?

'Darn it!" he cursed inwardly. Miraculously, he could keep his calm appearance. Oh yeah, he's the Black Cat.

The smirk didn't fade from the man's face, satisfied that the Black Cat had been cornered. "It looks like we have caught the famous cat which is wanted by many companies and organizations eh? What a beautiful night." He chuckled.

"You think so?" Natsume asked, challenged the man in front of him.

The smug grin was still on the man's face. "Just look at your situation, Black Cat. You have been cornered," the man said confidently. It really was a bad situation.

GRAB! GRAB! GRAB!

The soft sound was followed by surprised protests from the guards. When the man turned his head to his back, all of the guards that stood behind him before were tied in a few groups and fell forward. They couldn't move.

"What the-?!" The man was surprised when he saw them lying on the floor struggling to free themselves from the ropes that tied them. "What is the meaning of this?!"

The Black Cat was also surprised watching the scene, until a voice shouted, "IT'S NOW OR NEVER! QUICK!"

He snapped out of his surprised state and quickly leapt forward without thinking again. On his way, he managed to knock out the man by hitting his nape. After he knocked him out, he quickly ran out from the room, passing the helplessly guards who were lying on the cold floor.

"QUICK! THE GUARDS KEEP COMING!" the voice shouted again. Natsume tried to find out whose voice it was, but he saw no one near there. Holding the brown envelope in his left hand tightly, he turned at a corner and used his way when he sneaked into the building before to get out from the place. Unfortunately, the guards had come and blocked his way. There were about twenty persons blocking his way.

"Tch!" The fire caster grunted as he activated his alice again. A fire ring appeared and surrounded the guards. They were trapped. 'So the man is the one who has the barrier alice…' he thought as he saw his right hand producing a small fire on it. 'Good that I have knocked him out.'

Not wasting his time, he focused his attention back to the guards in front of him. He took a few steps back, intending to search for another way to run when he suddenly felt a familiar ache on his chest again. Clutching the front of his shirt, he fell on his knees again. The fire ring in front of him went off and the guards sneered as they approached the now-weak Black Cat.

'Crap!' He breathed heavily as he saw the guards shortening their distance with him. This wasn't supposed to be happening to the oh-so-great Black Cat. This wouldn't happen if his evil trainer didn't force him to do another mission. Persona should have known about his worsened condition after these four years. All of this was because he overused his alice many times. And the problem was back again to the crazy missions he had to do.

"HANG ON!!" the voice said again when a thing as big as a girl's knuckle fell between the guard and him. He eyed the thing curiously, wondering what it was.

"What is this?" a guard asked his other friends, confused at the mysterious thing.

BAM!!

Without any warning, the thing suddenly exploded. Thick fog came out from it and engulfed all of them in no time. The fire caster covered his nose and mouth with his left hand, which was holding the brown envelope, while the other hand still clutched his front shirt. He still could feel the pain. Only, it wasn't as hurt as before.

"DARN!! THERE'S ANOTHER CAT HERE!!" A guard shouted to the others while trying to see among the thick fog.

Natsume still knelt on his spot when he heard the shout, until someone suddenly grabbed his right arm from nowhere. Darn if the one who grabbed him was one of the guards.

"Stupid! Don't just stay there! We must run!" the same mysterious voice said impatiently. He was relieved that it's not the guard who grabbed him, but he couldn't let his guard down.

The lad let himself be dragged by the owner of the voice as he prepared himself to attack if the owner of the voice was another enemy of his. After being in the fog for five seconds, he finally could see the dim corridor again. The moon was still hiding behind the clouds. He then shifted his gaze to the person who was dragging him.

The first thing he saw was the slender hand that held his right wrist. It looked like a girl's hand; it's small and the skin was smooth. From the hand, his gaze moved up and he saw waist-length black hair swaying on the figure's back. The curve of the figure's waist told him it was a girl who dragged him.

The girl kept on running. She didn't look back to make sure if she really had dragged the right person. "Who are you?" Natsume asked, still keeping his guard up.

"We have no time for chit-chat!" she said as she opened one of the doors in the corridor. She quickly pulled him inside along with her and closed the door with a low 'thud'.

Natsume, being Natsume, knew the best situation to ask some questions. He decided to keep quiet and focused his mind to subside the pain on his chest. If it was Mikan, both of them might have been captured by now.

They stayed behind the door, waiting until the footsteps sound was out from their earshot and making sure the situation had been safe for them. The sound stopped right in front of the room where they were hiding now.

"Where did they go?"

"It looks like they went to that direction!"

"Are you sure? I think they went to the opposite direction!"

"Then we split into two! Let's go!"

After a few moments, the sound of footsteps started to fade away.

Natsume and the girl stayed silent for a few seconds behind the door. Finally, the girl sighed in relief after she was sure the situation had been safe. For now. "That's a close one," she started a conversation as she moved to the window at the opposite side.

The lad watched her movement in silence. As he called the situation was already safe for now, he might as well start to interrogate the mysterious girl. "Who are you?" he asked in a cautious tone. The pain on his chest before had finally faded.

The girl opened the window and looked out, checking on the height. "I'm not your enemy for sure," she replied firmly without looking at him.

His crimson eyes didn't move from the girl. He got wondered at her words. If she wasn't his enemy, there's just one to be sure. "…Did Persona send you here?" he asked as he approached the window too. He stopped right beside her and looked out, wondering what the girl saw since a few seconds ago. It's nothing to be seen down there except darkness. He could feel the wind blowing strongly on the thirtieth floor, sending an amount of chillness to him.

The girl looked at him. "Who's Persona?" she asked back as she tilted her head in bewilderment.

At her answer, Natsume had his attention back at her. 'She doesn't know Persona…?' he thought as he observed the girl from toe to top.

The girl wore black-colored T-shirt with long sleeves and ¾ length dark-blue colored denim pants with a pair of white shoes that had blue line on it. She also wore a white mask with golden ornament on the forehead and around the eyes part. Around her neck, there was a silver necklace with a small wing-shaped note hanging in front of her chest.

The girl was absolutely a stranger to him. He had no idea why she helped him; that was, if she really tried to save him. "You're from AAO?" he asked, staring sharply at the girl.

"What is AAO?" she asked back again.

Now this made him confused. 'She doesn't know about AAO?' The lad didn't have any idea who the girl was, totally. She wasn't an enemy, not an AAO and also wasn't sent by Persona. So why did she help him? Was she an agent from another organization that was sent to get him? 'Wait. Maybe she's just pretending she doesn't know. I can't trust her easily,' he thought silently. "If you're not my enemy or AAO, then who are you?" he asked, not moving his attention from her.

The girl stared at him silently for a while then she shifted her gaze back to the opened window. "That person calls me Little Angel," she answered as she looked down to the darkness of the night. "Sorry, but I can't tell you my real name."

Behind the cat mask, Natsume arched an eyebrow. "That person?" he asked, wondering who she meant. He might be able to get any clue if he knew who the person she meant. "Who sent you here?"

Taking out a pencil with wing-shaped ornament on the top of it, she replied relaxingly, "Sorry. Can't tell you his name too." She then took the small note on her chest and opened it.

'His? So the one who sent her is a guy…' he thought while observing the girl who was now drawing something on the small wing-shaped note. This action of hers got his attention. "What are you doing?" he asked, curiosity engulfing his mind.

The girl didn't look at him. She kept on doing her activity. "As you see, I'm drawing," she replied calmly.

The lad looked at her in disbelief, thinking the girl was stupid enough to realize that it wasn't the right time to draw. "In this situation?" he asked unbelievingly. "We must escape from here, not draw!" he reminded her, starting to get annoyed.

But the girl didn't stop what she was doing right now. "You'll see later. By the way, you can do the parachute jumping, can't you?" she asked, still drawing.

"What?!" He got more confused and annoyed. If they didn't get out of that place quickly, the guard surely would find them soon.

BRAK!!

The girl, called Little Angel, and Natsume whipped their heads on the same time to the door which was suddenly slammed open. And what they saw at that time worsened their situation.

A guard was standing in front of them and blocking the door. "THEY'RE HERE!!" the guard shouted when he found them.

Black Cat cursed under his breath. "Crap! They found us!" Little Angel muttered in annoyance.

Natsume rolled his eyes. "I'm more surprised if they don't find us when you're drawing unclear things than thinking of a way to escape," he commented. The girl didn't take any heed of it though.

The footsteps sounded louder. More guards were coming. Little Angel took out her gun and Natsume was ready in his stance. "Fight them first or we directly escape?" the girl asked as she started to shoot the guards at the door, tying them in a few groups.

"You think we can directly escape? From this thirtieth floor?" the lad snapped sarcastically as he knocked out a few guards that almost reached them. He couldn't help but think what a stupid girl she was, asking which they would do first while they had no option but to fight for their freedom.

"Why not?" she asked back as she shot the last group of guards. The way to the corridor had been clear for them now, but they couldn't take any risk to escape from there, for they knew there would be more guards coming after them if they took the way.

Natsume, who was curious with her words, looked at her then approached her. "How?"

Little Angel lifted her knuckle in front of him. "Use this," she said as she threw some kind of wrist watch to him.

He caught it and observed the thing for a while. "Where did you get this? And how can a wrist watch help us to escape? A portal will show up?" he asked, feeling being fooled by her.

The black-haired girl climbed the windowsill. "After you jump, press the switch on the chain. A parachute will come out," she explained briefly before she jumped off from the window.

Surprised by her sudden suicidal act, he ran to the window and stuck his head out to check if she was still alive or already turned into a corpse. But instead of a corpse, he saw something white like parachute slowly going down to the ground. 'She's really impossible. What is she thinking anyway?' he thought in confusion.

Not long afterwards, he heard a few footsteps approaching the room where he was at that time. He had no choice but to climb the windowsill, as he clutched the brown envelope tightly in his left hand and held the wrist watch in his right hand. He jumped out from the window and quickly pressed the switch on the device's chain. A parachute came out and his falling speed slowed down.

After more less thirty seconds passed, he landed on the ground gracefully. He looked around searching for the girl, but he couldn't find her anywhere. The only thing left was a white parachute which was lying on the ground. The girl herself had disappeared, leaving him with a bunch of questions.

'Who is she anyway?' he thought.

'_That person calls me Little Angel.'_

Behind his mask, a smirk graced his lips. 'Little Angel? Which part of her that is an angel?' was his last thought before he went out from the place and disappeared into the darkness, leaving the thirty floors building in the cold of night.

-x-

"You have done a good job," Hirai praised, clapping his hands.

Jacklyn took off her disguise and looked at him irritatingly. "You know? He said I drew unclear things when the guard found us back then! Geez! That cocky boy really annoyed me! In fact, I drew the devices to get us out from that place!" she complained while folding her arms in front of her chest.

The silver-blue haired man chuckled. "You should understand. He doesn't know your alice."

She huffed in annoyance and said, "You're right."

He responded with a smile. "Then we end our meeting tonight here. You must go back and have a good rest so you can attend class on time tomorrow," he suggested.

Jacklyn sighed. "Fine. So, do we still meet tomorrow night?"

"For the training, yes. If I get information about Hyuuga's mission, I'll tell you," he said, smiling.

"Okay…" she muttered while rolling her eyes. "I wonder where Natsume gets that stamina to do these tiring missions…"

He smiled and patted her head. "That's for him to know and for you to find out," he said jokingly.

She groaned. "I wouldn't like to ask him…" Then silence came over her for a while as she remembered all questions Black Cat asked her. "…Who's Persona?" she asked, staring at the man for a while, waiting for his answer.

"He's Hyuuga's instructor, or you could say, trainer. He's the person who trains him and gives him missions," Hirai answered lightly. "And you better go back now. It has been 3 in the morning."

After he mentioned what time it was, her eyes widened in horror. "What?! Oh no! I have to go now or I'll fall asleep in the class! Night, Hirai-san!!" she said as she quickly ran out from the building to her dorm room.

"Night, Little Angel…" He chuckled, seeing her running away in panic.

--To be continued--

**Jacklyn: If only the freaky author didn't burn my sketchbook, you will arrive at heaven now!**

**Natsume: (Rolls eyes) Oh yeah. Scary.**

**Jacklyn: Why you!! (Strangles his neck inwardly)**

**Mikan: You two, stop it! (Flails arms miserably)**

**A paper suddenly fell between them.**

**Jacklyn: What's this? (Picks up the paper)**

**Natsume: It's a paper, stupid sketchbook girl.**

**Jacklyn: (Glares at him) I could see that, cocky boy.**

**Mikan: (Sweat drops) What is written on there?**

**Jacklyn: Hm…wait… (Looks at the paper)**

_**Loser.**_

**Jacklyn & Natsume & Mikan: … **

**Natsume: (Smirks) Finally someone agreed with me. You are a loser, sketchbook girl.**

**Jacklyn: (Vein pops on her head) Whoever wrote this, that person didn't write who the loser is.**

**Natsume: Of course it's you. He/she didn't need to write it again because the paper fell on your head.**

**Jacklyn: Correction! It fell between us!!**

**Natsume: But you're the one who picked it.**

**Jacklyn: Because there's no one picking it!!**

**Natsume: Just admit that you're a loser, sketchbook girl.**

**Jacklyn: You're the loser!!**

**Mikan: (Cries waterfall) You two…please…stop it…**

**Hotaru: (Shakes head) Idiots.**


	21. 21st Piece: Questions

**Mikan: Hi, everyone. Since we haven't found illutia-**

**Jacklyn: Freaky author!!**

**Mikan: (Sweatdrops) Yeah, whatever it is…**

**Hotaru: I found this. (Shows them a pile of papers from nowhere)**

**Mikan & Jacklyn: (Looks at the papers) What's that?**

**Natsume: Read it first, idiots.**

**Mikan & Jacklyn: (Glares at Natsume) …**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**21st Piece: Questions**

_I could do it._

"And that's why we spell it…"

…_A bit more…_

"…While this word…"

_I could…_

"…And this sentence will be…"

…_I…_

"…This will turn to…"

…_I give up…_

"And so…"

BRAK!

In milliseconds, the lecturing stopped. The loud sound got Narumi's and students' attentions. They directly turned their heads to a certain direction where the sound was heard. There, on the floor, a certain black-haired girl was groaning while trying to stand up from her lying position. She looked up and froze when she realized everybody was looking at her.

"Um…Sorry…?" she muttered, feeling a bit embarrassed for what had happened to her just now.

The wavy-blonde haired teacher blinked then smiled at her. "It's okay, Jacklyn-chan," he said kindly. "Is there something wrong that you fell from your desk?"

Jacklyn quickly stood up and dusted her skirt. "N-no. I'm fine," she answered while smiling sheepishly.

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure?" She nodded fervently as her answer. Narumi smiled at her and said, "Then sit back on your seat. We'll continue our lesson." He turned back to the blackboard and the lecturing went on.

Jacklyn sighed quietly and sat back on her seat. Placing her left elbow on the desk, she rested her chin on her left palm while staring at the blackboard. The lecture didn't get into her head, considering she didn't pay attention too much to the teacher since the first period. Her head was heavy, craving for sleep.

It had been two weeks since her first mission. She still practiced at night with Hirai and sometimes got mission from him to follow Natsume in his missions. Of course she didn't get the mission all the time. But the missions she got always required her to sleep late and that caused her to sleep in the middle of the class most of the time.

Like what happened today.

She had tried to keep herself awake since the lesson started. But what could she say? Her head got heavier and heavier as the time passed by. And somehow, there was something invisible forcing her eyelids to close. Though it was attempting for her to sleep there right at that time, moreover the teacher was Narumi, she fought the drowsiness with all her might.

But people had limit. She finally reached her boundary and gave up, letting herself fall into the darkness of illusion. Well, before she was finally awakened by the hard surface of the floor in the next second.

She covered her mouth with her right palm and yawned secretly. Last night she just had another mission which caused her to come back at four in the morning. She could just have three hours good sleep before she finally woke up at seven o'clock and prepared herself in panic because she was almost late for school.

It was tiring her.

Jacklyn had her eyes half-opened now. Her attention was still on the blackboard, but all she could see was blurry view. She couldn't read what the teacher wrote and couldn't hear what the teacher said. She was clueless. Her mind had started turning blank.

BRAK!

Ah, another loud sound at that morning. All people's attentions were on her once again. "Ouch…" the poor girl whimpered while rubbing her chin which made a hard contact with the desk a few seconds ago. A nervous smile was on her face as she muttered a small 'sorry' once again to the class.

What a bad and tiring day…

-x-

"You look extremely tired…" was the comment that came from the brunette who was sitting in front of her.

Jacklyn yawned behind the hand which was covering her mouth. "Yeah…I'm lack of sleep last night…" she said sleepily before she took her orange juice and drank it. She wanted to lay her head on the table and take a nap at that time, but the crowded cafeteria wasn't the right place for it. Its noise just made her head hurt.

Mikan blinked, wondering what the black-haired girl had done that caused her to be lack of sleep. "Is there any extra hard homework you couldn't do?" she asked. "Though I remember well we don't have any homework this week…"

The drawing alice user waved her hand in front of the brunette in disagreement. "No. I'm just…studying…" she lied as a smile was visible on her face. 'Oh yeah. Since when I turn so diligent?' She inwardly rolled her eyes.

She didn't know if the nullifier was really stupid or had belief in people too much. What she knew was the brunette looked at her amazingly and spoke, "Wow, you're really diligent, Jacklyn-chan. I wish I could be like you." The black-haired girl swore she saw the brunette's eyes sparkling in admiration at that time.

'Oh dear…' she thought, feeling a bit guilty for lying to the dense brunette.

It wasn't long until they heard the girls squealing, adding more noises in the already noisy room. Jacklyn thought her ears would be bleeding in the next second when she heard three girls, who were standing near her table, squealing like the world would end in no time.

Rolling her eyes, she lifted her hands and covered her ears before she turned deaf because of the deadly squeals. Mikan also did the same thing. She covered her ears and turned her head to the direction where all girls were looking at now. She wondered what made the girls go crazy.

Jacklyn didn't have to see the cause of this ruckus. She already had an idea why they were squealing. It's so obvious. It must be the two infamous boys again. Ruka and Natsume. Yeah, was there any other person who could make the girls turn crazy like that beside them?

The squeals got louder. Jacklyn could feel her head getting more hurt from time to time. If the noise didn't stop soon, her head would blow up; not literally though. She shut her eyes close and tried to chase the voices away from her head.

'I don't hear anything. I don't hear anything. I don't hear-'

SPLASH!!

She immediately shot her eyes open at the sudden cold feeling she had just now. In front of her, Mikan also looked at her in surprise, her lips parting a little. Jacklyn blinked. There's another thing she felt beside cold.

She felt wet.

She slowly moved her hands to her head and touched it. Her hair indeed was wet. She trailed her hands from her hair to her shoulders then her face. All of them were wet. She looked down and sighed in relief when she found out she was just wet on the top; a half of her uniform was as dry as ever. Between the squeals, she heard some faint giggles not too far from her. She glanced to her right from the corner of her eye.

Indeed, five girls stood just two meters from her, giggling and smirking wickedly at her. One of them was holding an empty glass. The girl waved the empty glass at her and smirked. The other was whispering something to her before five of them turned and walked away from the place.

Still glaring at their backs, the drawing alice user cursed inwardly. She tore her gaze away from them and saw the brunette looking at her worriedly. Jacklyn forced a smile on her face and lifted one hand in front of her, gesturing the brunette that she was fine.

The squeals suddenly died down. Both the brunette and the black-haired girl turned their heads to the entrance's direction and found those two boys stop right next to their table. Natsume took a seat beside Mikan without saying anything, while Ruka smiled at Jacklyn before he sat beside her. The black-haired girl smiled back at him.

After the boys sat down, the girls started to whine and whisper to each other, saying how lucky she and Mikan were. Jacklyn rolled her eyes at this. 'Fan girls…'

Remembering that she was still wet, she stood up, earning attentions from her table-mates. "Where are you going?" Mikan was the first to ask.

Jacklyn looked at her. "I need to dry this," she replied while pointing at her wet hair.

"Oh," was the brunette's only response.

The black-haired girl smiled at her and said, "I'll be right back." The brunette smiled back at her and nodded. After she excused herself from the others, which of course didn't get any response from the fire caster, she walked out from the room silently. Girls' glares followed her movement along the way.

She could never describe how relieved she was when she had already been outside of the cafeteria. At least, there's no glare from the fan girls. She felt like being burnt and stabbed by something sharp from behind when she was inside. She wondered if the brunette also felt it.

Now, what she needed was an empty room or class where she could use her alice. She hadn't wanted to reveal her alice, not yet; not when she had a tough enemy, or rather…enemies, like Marika's gang. It's suicide to let the wavy-black haired girl know about it since her alice wasn't a good one for both defense and attack, especially in a real fight which gave her just a few milliseconds to draw weapons.

Jacklyn opened a door to a room which she thought was empty, but what welcomed her was quite surprising her.

The wavy-black haired girl was sitting on the teacher's desk, smiling wickedly at her. The wind alice user, Suzuka, was standing beside the ice alice user.

"Well, well, if it's not the non-alice girl…" Marika muttered while snickering. Jacklyn tried not to show her surprise. Staring at the ice alice user with her stoic face, she kept quiet and let the others enjoy their excitement thinking they had caught their prey.

This situation wasn't good at all.

-x-

"Sakura," the blonde-haired boy called, making the brunette look at him. "Did something happen to Jacklyn-san? She's wet on the top…"

Mikan shook her head. "I don't know. I didn't look at her when that happened," she said sadly, her eyes locked onto the glass in front of her. She was too distracted by the source of the sudden crowd at that time that she didn't pay attention the girl. She did have suspicion when she saw the black-hared girl glaring to a certain direction before she turned her head to the brunette.

This must have something to do with the fan girls…

A shadow loomed over her, snapping her out of her brief daze. She lifted her head to see who the owner of the shadow was, only to find her best friend standing beside her. Hotaru didn't say anything when she took a seat at the other side of the brunette. She placed the tray in her hands, which was filled with her lunch, on the table and drank the water first before she started to munch on her food.

Mikan smiled at her raven-haired girl friend and asked, "What took you so long, Hotaru?"

The inventor didn't look at her and kept on munching on her lunch elegantly. "Did a few repairs to my inventions," she simply said and then suddenly put down her spoon. She inserted her right hand to her pocket which made the brunette wonder what was wrong with her by all of a sudden.

In two seconds, the raven-haired lass took out something from her pocket and put it on the table. Using a bit of her energy, she pushed the mysterious thing and it slid across in front of the brunette. The thing stopped right in front of the fire caster.

Natsume looked down at the table in front of her. "What took you so long to return this, Imai?" he asked as he glanced at the inventor.

Hotaru didn't stop eating her lunch. "I have another thing to do than checking on the small and unattractive thing," she answered coolly. She then put down her spoon again, took her glass, and brought it to her lips. "But it seems like it's interesting than I thought," she said before she gulped down an amount of fresh water inside the glass.

Mikan and Ruka who were staying still on their spots and hearing the conversation all the time was confused at what the two were talking about. Both of them then focused their attentions to the item which was in front of the fire caster now. Its shape was like a wristwatch; it might more look like a bracelet since there's no clock needle on it. "What's that thing, Natsume?" the brunette asked wonderingly, her eyes never moved from the bracelet-shaped thing.

"Don't know," the raven-haired lad replied plainly. "I accidentally found it," he lied.

There's no way he would let the brunette know that he got the thing when he was in his mission two weeks ago. She would get worried and started to nag him about it. But he did tell the inventor about getting the thing when he was in his mission. He knew better than to lie to the raven-haired girl. She was too clever to know he wouldn't get attracted to something except the unfamiliar thing he had never seen before, though he didn't tell her he got it from the mysterious Little Angel.

Natsume glanced at the inventor again, seeing her putting the glass back on the table and placing a napkin on her mouth. She pressed it lightly on her lips a few times before she pulled the napkin away and folded it neatly. "You said it's interesting than you thought," he said in wonder. "What is that?"

Hotaru turned her head a little to him. "Well, when I checked it this morning, I found something interesting about that thing," she uttered. She moved her gaze to the bracelet-shaped thing then she looked back at the lad. "You said it could show a parachute if you press the small switch on the chain, right?" she asked, her face still expressionless.

The raven-haired lad raised an eyebrow at the question. "Yes. I have tried it," he replied simply.

"Really? It could make a parachute show up??" Mikan butted in as she looked at the thing closer. "Can I try it?" she asked, her eyes sparkling with hope.

Natsume looked at her in boredom. "Sure," he replied coldly, "if you want to fill this place with the huge thing." The brunette directly shut her mouth up and pouted.

The animal-pheromone alice user also wondered. "This small thing could make a parachute appear? It must have a great technology inside it…" he said amusingly.

"You said it," the inventor cut in. "But the truth is farther than what we thought."

Upon hearing this, the three of them had their attentions on the raven-haired lass. "What do you mean, Hotaru?" Mikan asked. Her head had been filled with questions and wonder. The other two just stared at inventor, waiting for the answer.

The Ice Queen grew quiet for a while as she glanced at the thing. "It has no machine in it. Nothing," she stated with serious expression. "It's empty."

-x-

Jacklyn ducked as an ice icicle skimmed just two centimeters above her head. She knelt on one knee and glanced at the sharp thing which stuck on the wooden surface of the door. Under three seconds, she had rolled to her right side. A small sigh escaped from her lips as she glanced at the door again. It was good that she could avoid the second icicle in the nick of time, or it would stab right on her left arm.

She focused her dark-brown eyes to the wavy-black haired girl in front of her, trying to be as expressionless as she could. "As temperamental as ever, Houji," she commented as she stood up and dusted her skirt. "But you know that it's restricted to do the alice battle on the school ground, not to mention your alice could harm people."

Gritting her teeth, Marika Houji didn't take off her glare from the black-haired girl at the opposite direction. "I see…" she muttered in annoyance. "You're trying to provoke me eh?" She smirked as she waved her hand. The ice icicles which stuck on the door before turned into a white smoke and disappeared in the air.

Jacklyn raised an eyebrow at the brief show and looked at the other. "Provoke? I don't think so," she replied relaxingly. Inside her head, she knew the temperamental enemy of hers would feel offended by her expressionless face and calm actions. But this was the only way so she wouldn't get bullied by them. On the other side, she was searching for a way to get out from the place. Thanks to the wavy-black haired girl, the door was closed tightly because the frame was being covered by ice. The doorknob also wasn't safe from the freezing.

The drawing alice girl cursed inwardly because she didn't have any weapon with her now. She did remember she brought the small sketchbook from Hirai with her. She had a few remaining sketches she didn't use in her mission, but how could she take it out without being known them?

Marika chuckled evilly, snapping Jacklyn out of her thought. "You don't think so?" the ice alice user repeated with a sarcastic tone. "I think you want your death sooner," she said before three icicles slid to the drawing alice girl's direction.

Thanks to the training she had with Hirai, she could dodge the attack by rolling to her left gracefully. But the finishing itself wasn't that great. Due to the narrow place, she hit her shoulder on one of the desk's feet. She hissed in pain and stood up. She couldn't show her weakness in front of her opponents.

Since it was lunchtime, most of the students were hanging out in the cafeteria. No one would realize the sounds they made in the empty room since there's nobody at the corridor. She still had thirty minutes until the bell rang signaling the lesson would be started again. She might be able to extend time until lunchtime was over. 'Sounds like a nice idea,' she thought.

Fixing her gaze on Marika, Jacklyn rubbed her aching shoulder while asking, "…What do you want from me?"

The wicked smile on the ice alice girl's face was gone. "I think I've told you not to mess around with us," she said dangerously. "I told you not to go near our Natsume."

"I never go near him," Jacklyn snapped. "What do you expect me to do? I'm in the same class with him and all of the middle school students also live in the same dormitory too. Do you wish me to sleep at the forest with Mr. Bear and never attend classes just to avoid him? Hell no." 'Well, except when I'm in mission, yeah,' she added in her thought while rolling her eyes inwardly.

Marika jumped off from the teacher's desk and glared dangerously at her. "I found out that you're also going near him aside from the facts that you're in the same class with him and same dormitory. Like today, what do you think you're doing by sitting on the same table with him at cafeteria?" she asked with a deep voice, as if she would burst out in anger anytime.

Jacklyn grew quiet in disbelief. She swore she wanted to strangle her and shout at her, telling she was insane. Couldn't she see that the one who approached the table where she sat with Mikan was the fire caster himself?

Jacklyn shook her head in stress. "I think you're the one who's testing my patience…" she muttered while rubbing her temple. Looking up, she threw Marika a cold glare. "Are you stupid or what?" she started to say out a piece of her stress. "Couldn't you see it's him who approached us? It's not my fault."

The wavy-black haired lass sneered. "Oh? Then why did you look at him as if you saw a prince walking in?"

Shoulders shaking, Jacklyn tried to hold her annoyance. The Marika girl wasn't only testing her patience again. She was making her mad by intentionally. The drawing alice user inhaled deeply, hoping it could calm her a bit. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she stared at the ice alice user and asked, "…Why do you hate me?"

Marika tossed her black hair over her shoulder. "Why? Because you're messing around our Natsume and that annoys us," she replied as she smirked. Jacklyn gave her a few small chuckles. For a few seconds, Marika and Suzuka just stared at her weirdly. "What's funny?" she asked between her grinding teeth, feeling annoyed.

One minute later, Jacklyn's chuckle subsided. Her eyes looked at the ice controller through her eyelashes. "You don't hate me just because of that," she intoned. "There's another reason behind it."

Marika's jaw clenched, her eyes widened a bit. "…I don't have any reason beside that…" she muttered lowly, but loud enough for Jacklyn to hear.

Lifting her eyebrows, the bearer of drawing alice challenged, "Are you sure? Well, I'm not. I sense something behind your acts all this time."

A deadly glare was thrown to her by the ice alice lass. "…What do you know about me?" she growled.

Jacklyn smiled sarcastically. "Well, I remember you said I'm weak in our last battle. Addition, you said it with hatred," she countered. "And I do wonder…" she muttered while tapping her index finger on her chin, "…why did you threaten me you would hurt my friend while you could threaten to kill me if you want?"

"Why?" the other repeated, chuckling in disbelief. "Because the academy forbids us to kill the other students. Are you stupid?"

"Then why are you always searching trouble with me?"

Marika chuckled again. "Are you kidding? You're the one who's always messing with us."

Jacklyn set her eyes firmly on the ice alice user, as if she would bind her with invisible rope. "Then why me?" she asked seriously. This time, Marika grew quiet. The drawing alice lass kept on staring at her. "Of all girls, you choose me to be messing with," she stated.

"I have told you, you're the one who's messing with us!" the wavy black-haired girl shouted after she finally found her voice back.

"People say, sometimes one who is ever hurt tries to hurt other people so they could feel what the people feels," Jacklyn snapped as she walked to the front of the class again. "…Or…they see their selves inside the other people…and blame themselves for being weak…" Her step stopped when she was right in front of the door. She looked at Marika sharply. "So, which is it?"

The other black-haired girl clenched her fists tightly, her bangs covering her eyes. "…Why…you…" she hissed. Jacklyn saw her shoulders shaking in anger. When the ice alice lass lifted her head, her eyes were blazing with anger.

Uh oh, it's not a good sign at all.

Jacklyn cursed inwardly. 'Maybe I over did it…' she thought as she prepared herself for what would come next.

"…What do you know…?" she heard the angry girl say. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ME?!"

Jacklyn's eyes widened in surprise when she saw a few icicles formed out from nowhere. She really had made the girl mad. For the first time in her life, she cursed herself for miscalculating the situation. She was about to go hiding when she felt her feet didn't want to move. When she looked down, she found herself surprised at what she saw.

Ice had covered her feet, attaching it to the ground.

She looked up, the icicles had been duplicated. Marika seemed to lose her self control.

"MARIKA!! GET A HOLD OF YOURSELF!!" Suzuka shouted by all of a sudden, earning Jacklyn's attention. The black-haired girl had forgotten about the wind alice user's presence there since minutes ago. "IF YOUR LIMITER IS BROKEN AGAIN, THEY WILL PUNISH YOU!!"

Those words hit Jacklyn's mind. 'Limiter?' she thought while looking at the light-green haired girl. She remembered she ever heard what the limiter was in one of Narumi's lectures. If she's not wrong, limiter was a thing to suppress the alice power. It was usually being used by those whose alice was dangerous. 'If she uses the limiter thing…then…don't say she…' "Darn it…" she muttered unconsciously.

Marika lifted her hand, pointing her index finger at Jacklyn. The icicles around her turned their sharp edges to their target. A smirk graced her face as she silently commanded the icicles to attack the defenseless girl. Jacklyn just could shut her eyes, waiting for the hurt impact.

"MARIKA!!" was the last thing she could hear at that time.

-x-

"Empty?!" Ruka and Mikan said in unison. Surprise was visible on their faces.

"Precisely," was the only word that came out from the inventor's lips before she drank her drink again, which was plain water.

Natsume stared at the bracelet-shaped device silently. 'There's nothing in it?' he thought, suspecting the small thing. His mind then drifted to the night when he encountered with the mysterious girl for the first time. "Little Angel…huh…?" he muttered in a low voice, so no one could hear what he said.

The bell then rang, signaling the students to go back to their own class preparing for the next lesson. Mikan, Hotaru and Ruka rose from their seats and took their own tray. The fire caster stared at the thing in front of him for a few minutes before he rose from his seat. Stretching his hand, he took the thing and shoved it into his pocket along with his hand. The four of them then walked back to the class.

But the fire caster had many questions inside his head at that time.

And he wouldn't feel satisfied before all questions were answered.

-x-

Jacklyn lay helplessly on the floor, her eyes staring to nowhere in front of her. 'What happened?' she asked to no one in her thought. She tried to recall what had happened minutes ago.

What she remembered after she heard Suzuka shouting was…she was suddenly being thrown backward by wind which was blowing hardly from between them. She remembered how hurt it was when her feet broke free from the ice and her back hit the hard surface of the door.

And now, here she was, lying on the floor between consciousness and unconsciousness. Her sight had turned blurry and her head was hurt badly. It looked like her head also hit the door in the hard impact.

She didn't hear any voice from Marika or Suzuka. It looked like they had gone. She tried to move, but the only part she could move was her fingers. She tried to make any sound to call for help, but there's nothing coming out from her mouth. When she heard the bell ring, she inwardly sighed in relief.

She could just hope someone would find her there quickly as she slowly gave up her remaining consciousness into the darkness.

--To be continued--

**Jacklyn: What. The. Hell?!**

**Mikan: …Jacklyn was a bit annoying here…**

**Natsume: The sketchbook girl is indeed annoying, not only in this chapter.**

**Jacklyn: … (Glares at Natsume with 'I'll-kill-you-soon' glare)**

**Natsume: (Sticks his tongue out) I'm right, ain't I?**

**Mikan: (Sweat drops) …And here they go…again…**

**Hotaru: They're idiots anyway. (Takes out a cup of tea from nowhere and sips it)**


	22. 22nd Piece: Cornered

**illutia mist: (Watches the scene from the top of the tree) Hehehe, they're arguing. (Sneers evilly)**

**Mikan: (Hugs Hotaru) Hotaru!! Do something!**

**Hotaru: (Sighs and takes out her Baka gun then shot Jacklyn and Natsume with it)**

**Natsume: (Avoids the bullet) What the hell??**

**Jacklyn: (Gets shot) Ouch!!**

**Hotaru: (Blows the smoke) Done.**

**Jacklyn: What's that for??**

**Hotaru: Instead of throwing mockeries to each other, why don't you just catch someone up there? (Points to the top of tree where illutia is sitting)**

**Jacklyn & Natsume & Mikan: (Looks up to the top of tree) YOU!!!**

**illutia mist: …Am I dead now?**

**Jacklyn & Natsume & Mikan: HELL YEAH!!**

**illutia mist: …Oh man…**

**Hotaru: …Idiocy is everywhere…**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**22nd Piece: Cornered**

When she opened her eyes, the first thing that greeted her was the white color of the ceiling. She stared at the white surface for a while and sighed. She already knew where she might be. The feeling was so familiar to her.

She was in the hospital…again.

She tried to lift her body and felt a bit hurt on her head. When she placed her palm on her head, she sensed a soft material wrap around her head. She blinked. '…What happened to me…? Why is my head being bandaged…?' she thought as she trailed the bandage on her forehead.

She stared at the sheet on her lap blankly while her brain traced her memories to find out what had happened before she found herself waking up in the hospital a few seconds ago. Her fingers ran a small circle on her forehead as she closed her eyes and concentrated more on remembering the past event. A few blurred images flashed inside her head. Her eyebrows wrinkled as she forced herself to remember.

In the next second, her eyes shot open in surprise. She remembered what had happened.

Marika was mad and she seemed to be out of control.

She let out a small sigh when she realized what she had done to the wavy-black haired girl until she turned to be angry. She felt a little guilty. Her taunt must have passed the limit. She wondered if Suzuka could prevent the ice alice user from breaking her limiter.

Not only dragging them in danger too, she also almost claimed a suicide for herself. Oh well, at least she could get a lesson from this dangerous experience. Never mess with angry people.

"I see you have awakened."

Jacklyn turned her head to the window upon hearing the voice. A tall figure with blue mask was standing in front of the opened window. She knew who the person was. "…Hirai-san…?"

A small soft chuckle was heard from the figure. "Don't say you have forgotten about me after you're unconscious for three days," he joked.

The black-haired girl blinked. "I've been unconscious for three days??" she repeated while pointing at herself with surprise. Her eyes were wide opened.

"Yup. Brain concussion," he stated. "But not a serious one."

"I see…"

"And the doctor also said you're tired too," he continued while taking a few steps approaching her. "It seems like your stamina dropped down so much just because of your first mission." He chuckled.

Jacklyn frowned. Sure she was lack of sleep at that time, but she was aware when she confronted Marika. She just didn't know that some part of her words hit the girl perfectly and made the ice user angrier than she already were.

Not only that.

She also couldn't use her alice, since her things were inside the bag. She had no chance to bring it out. "Why did you walk in from the window, Hirai-san?" she asked irritatingly. "There's a door there." She pointed to the door with her index finger while looking at the man with unpleased expression.

Hirai shrugged and relaxingly answered, "I feel more comfortable to walk in from the window. Maybe it's because I have been used to do it in missions."

"Oh yeah…" Jacklyn muttered while rolling her eyes. She didn't really care though. She just wanted to tease him. But it looked like he didn't catch what her real intention at all. "So?" she asked as she looked at the man knowingly. "I believe there's another thing you want to say beside that."

Chuckling, the silver-blue haired man nodded. "Did the brain concussion make your feeling sharper than before?" he teased while smiling.

"No. I'm just guessing," she remarked. "Don't say it's true…?" He kept on smiling. Wondering what it was, Jacklyn bent one of her eyebrows in confusion. "…A mission?" she presumed, a half joking.

A grin was formed by his lips. "Bingo."

The black-haired girl groaned. She never expected any mission when she just woke up from her three days slumber. Her head was still a bit hurt. Well, not that much. But she still wanted to enjoy the nice and peaceful rest. "What time is it?" she asked dispassionately as she stared at the blue sky.

"It's 7 am," he answered lightly. "Better get prepared now. Hyuuga has already gone to his mission a few minutes ago."

Jacklyn stared at him in disbelief. "This early??" she whined. "The sun is still up there!" She pointed up to the ceiling.

"Correction. The sun is in the east." Hirai pointed to the direction where the bright light of morning sun was seen.

The girl rolled her eyes." Yeah, whatever. But it's still early!"

Hirai nodded relaxingly. "I know. But he got mission, and should I remind you of your job?" He smiled.

The girl shook her head in defeat while thinking if the man was already insane. If she was careless, people would find out what her secret job was and that would violate her deal with him. She didn't know what the man had in his mind when he told her to catch up with Natsume right at that time. He should have been thinking clearly what the consequence was.

"No need," she grunted as she swung her legs to the edge of bed and touched the cold surface of the floor with the tip of fingers. She glanced at him. "What if I'm found out?" she asked seriously. She needed to know she wasn't going to be punished because of the bad possibility since he was the one who told her to do it at day.

To her surprise, the silver-blue haired man just smiled at her. "You won't," he intoned confidently. "I know you can do this."

She blinked. 'How could he trust me this far?' she thought. Her gaze was focused on the man in front of her. He acted like he had known her for years and known well her capability to do the missions. He trusted her too much.

But Jacklyn didn't ask him why. She didn't bother about it too much.

All she did at that time was just nodding her head slowly, and she got a reassuring smile from him in return.

-x-

"Good morning, everyone!" a brunette greeted the class the moment she opened the class door energetically. Without warning, she got a few shots from the inventor which made her lay on the floor with many lumps on her head. "What did you do that for?" she wailed as she sat up and rubbed her poor head. "I haven't even hugged you yet!!"

The pair of violet eyes stared at her unemotionally. "Preparation before you hug me," was her simple answer. She pulled her weapon back and blew the smoke away.

Unpleased, the brunette pouted as she stood up. "You never did this before."

"Well, that noisy voice of yours disturbed me." Hotaru walked to her desk and continued working on her invention. The students in the class were silent, shocked by what just happened. Though the same thing happened everyday, they couldn't help but to feel amazed and scared at the same time. No one could defy her.

Still pouting, the brunette approached the inventor and paid close attention to what the raven-haired girl did. People might think she suddenly had interest in that kind of thing, but Hotaru knew better. The stoic girl looked up to her best friend and asked, "What's with the sudden silence?"

Upon hearing her question, Mikan blinked. "Nothing. Why?"

"You're noisy, not a silent type," she answered simply.

The brunette sweat dropped. "Can't I be quiet sometimes?"

"Then that means something bothers your mind."

At her comeback, the auburn-haired girl grew quiet. Hotaru never shifted her eyes from the girl. She wanted to know what was bothering the brunette's mind. It was so unusual for her best friend to act like this. "So?" the owner of the violet eyes asked, still looking at her intently.

Knowing she wouldn't be able to hide it from the inventor, Mikan sighed in submission and uttered, "I wasn't permitted to see Jacklyn-chan…"

The raven-haired girl's gaze looked bored. She knew why the brunette wasn't permitted to do that. It was so obvious. "Of course you can't," she replied coolly. "It's early in the morning and you also have classes too. Don't be stupid, Mikan."

Mikan's lips curled down, forming a frown. "I just want to see her. It has been three days since we found her unconscious in the classroom," she reasoned out. "…And she didn't show any sign of consciousness…"

WHACK!

"What the hell?! Hotaru??" she wailed while rubbing her head which was just being hit by the oh-so-mighty inventor. She glared at the horse hoof in her best friend's right hand. Yup, that'was the cause of the big lump on her head right now.

"You're talking like she's in comma or between the dead and live condition," was her relaxed answer as she took off the hoof from her hand. She opened and closed her palm then focused her attention back to the invention in front of her. "She just had brain concussion. And it's not a serious one too."

Yuu stood beside the pouting brunette and asked her if she was fine. Mikan smiled at him and nodded. He gave her a friendly smile in return. But when he saw the frown returned to her face, he couldn't help but feel he needed to cool down the situation. "Imai-san is right, Sakura-san. Jacklyn-san will be just fine," he said reassuringly.

The pair of hazel eyes looked at him in anxiety. A small smile, which appeared on her face in the next second, then swept the worry and gloomy mood away. Her bright beam had come back to her face once again. "Yeah…"

"Troublesome dummy…" Hotaru muttered, her eyes still on her invention. Upon hearing her mockery, Mikan pouted.

Yuu just smiled at those two. He knew the raven-haired girl didn't mean to mock her best friend. It was just some kind like her way to make the brunette act like her normal self again, the usual happy-go-lucky girl.

Another sound of door opened was heard. The whole class turned their heads to the class door to see who it was. Ruka Nogi was standing at the door with his white bunny. He wondered at everyone's stare which was on him. Having no idea what was wrong with them, he smiled a little and greeted, "Good morning."

All Natsume and Ruka fan club's girls fainted upon seeing the smile and hearing the gentle voice of his, except for Mikan and Hotaru of course. Sumire also didn't faint too. She just had love sign in her eyes. Most of the boy sighed watching this regular scene. A few of them even muttered about having no chance to get a girlfriend in this class.

Sweat dropping, Ruka tried to ignore the commotion and walked approaching Mikan and the others. The brunette was the first who greeted him back with a bright smile, followed by his other friends. The only one who didn't say anything was the inventor. Instead of greeting, he was greeted by her with a few photo sessions. Of course, he complained about it.

While the inventor and her prey were arguing, at least Ruka was, the others just stared at them in silence. Mikan and Koko shook their heads at the same time. Well, the mind reader just imitated her. It had become his habit since he befriended with Mikan in elementary. He accidentally read Ruka's mind and chuckled when he knew what the animal lover thought about.

His chuckle drew the brunette's attention. "What's funny, Koko?" she asked confusedly.

"Nothing," he said between the chuckles, making Mikan more curious.

The door opened once again, revealing their wavy-blonde haired teacher who got curious at the commotion. "I smell something interesting," he singsonged as he approached Mikan and the others. When he saw what the commotion about, he sweat dropped and shook his head. "Poor Ruka-kun…" But the show must be ended soon because their teacher had come and the class should be started.

Students walked back to their seat reluctantly, except Ruka, who was glad that his suffering finally ended. Well, that was what he thought until he caught malicious glints in the raven-haired girl's eyes when he was on the way to his seat. Those mysterious glints sent a scary feeling that made him shiver. He wasn't sure the stoic inventor would let him go just like that.

Mikan reached her seat not long after she saw Ruka sitting on his own seat. That's when she spotted an empty seat between her and the blonde-haired boy. "Ruka-pyon, where's Natsume?" she asked, catching the animal lover's attention.

Ruka looked at her with a sad smile on his face. She didn't need word to know what he meant.

The fire caster was on a mission again.

Sighing, the brunette sat down on her seat and focused her eyes to the blackboard when Narumi had started the lesson. Sometimes, she couldn't help but steal a glance to the empty seat beside her.

Worry started to develop in her heart.

-x-

"Damn it!" Natsume cursed as he hit the wall beside him with his fist. He glared at the unconscious guard who was lying on the hard floor a few meters in front of him. 'Damn! If this stupid guy didn't activate the trap, I wouldn't have to be here right now!' he thought annoyingly. 'It's good that I broke two or three of his bones for this.'

Lifting his head up, he tried to find the hole where he fell from before, but he didn't see any hole up there. He cursed once again and gazed around his new surrounding. The place looked like a cave with a few ways. He saw three ways in front of him. The lad assumed this place was functioned as a maze-type trap to keep the spy here so they couldn't get out easily.

The only illumination in the place he was standing now was a light, which was attached on the rough wall. He didn't see any light came from those three ways.

Using his sharp sense as the expert in doing missions, he chose the left way to be explored first. Stealing a last glance to the other two ways and the still-fainted guard, he entered the path he chose without looking back again.

The path was dark. Natsume had no choice but to use his fire alice to illuminate his way. He walked in silence for a quite long time. There's no another sound inside the place, even the sound of wind passing by.

This would take a long time…

SREK SREK SREK

Natsume stopped walking upon hearing the faint dragging sound. His alice was also being turned off, leaving the darkness to engulf the place once again. He couldn't be careless. This was enemy territory. Except he wanted to be caught by them, he better didn't take any risk to do something that would drag him into the worse situation.

SREK SREK SREK

The sound was heard louder than before. It looked like the sound was coming to his direction. The raven-haired lad kept his guard up, ready to beat up the owner of the strange sound. It's a big chance if it was an enemy.

SREK SREK SREK

The sound came nearer to the spot where he was standing now. He was ready to confront what would happen next.

SREK SREK SREK

The sound was getting nearer…nearer…and nearer…

TAP!

Something in front of him poked his right arm which was leaning on the rough wall. Feeling certain that it was an enemy, Natsume initiatively grabbed the thing and twisted it a bit hard.

"OUCH!! IT HURTS!!" came the loud response from his opponent. But what made him surprised was it was a girl's voice. Though he was surprised, he tried to keep his face expressionless. He could feel his opponent keep on struggling under his hold, and she didn't give any sign she would stop her act soon. "DARN IT! LET GO OFF MY HAND!" he heard her shout again.

He didn't make any attempt to hold her, except to tighten his hold on her what-she-called hand. He also didn't make any sound, waiting for her to calm down. While his prey was struggling for her freedom, Natsume felt something moving around his feet, something like passing wind. It looked like the girl was trying to kick him in the dark.

"OUCH!" the most miserable voice was heard in the next second. The girl suddenly stopped squirming. He wondered why. "Damn it…I sprained my ankle…" he heard her mutter in a low voice.

The fire caster rolled his eyes at this. 'What an idiot…'

"Okay," she said in submission. "Now you have caught me, you stupid guard. Just bring me to your boss or whatever…" she grunted irritatingly. She sounded like she had already given up.

Natsume got confused at her two last sentences. 'Stupid guard? Boss?' he thought quietly. 'This girl isn't one of the guards?'

He heard a soft 'humph' come from the submissive girl. Being engulfed by the curiosity, he decided to end his mute. "Who are you?"

A soft gasp escaped from the girl. "…You're not the guard who's patrolling in this place?" she asked hesitantly.

Natsume cast a small fire on his free palm, illuminating the place where they were standing at that time. He then stared at the mysterious girl that her hand was still being held by him. The moment he saw her figure, he felt familiar with it.

Her long dark-colored hair that reached her waist, the wing-shaped note which was hanging in front of her chest, and the white mask that she used. The only difference was the mask which she used today only covered her face until above her mouth.

The pyromaniac didn't need much time to know who the girl was. He remembered she was the girl he met two weeks ago when he was in his mission and almost got captured.

The black-haired girl's lips formed a small 'o' when she saw him. "Hey! It's you!" She pointed her free index finger to him. "I thought you're the guard! You almost gave me a heart attack back then!" the girl complained while pouting; but actually, she was relief she hadn't gotten captured.

"You again…" the raven-haired lad muttered. There's an annoyed tone in his voice. Certainly, he wasn't happy to see her at all. "What are you doing here?" he asked in boredom.

"Do you think I want to be here? They trapped me here!" she protested while clenching her fist in front of him.

Natsume raised an eyebrow at her fiery comeback. "Who trapped you?"

"That stupid guards up there," she murmured in annoyance. "They chased me and I suddenly fell into this place when I wasn't paying attention too much to my surrounding…"

"It's your fault, stupid," he commented.

A vein popped on her head. "Who did you call stupid just now?!" she asked angrily.

"You. Who else?" he remarked while looking at her boringly. "You're the one who got careless in the first place."

The girl huffed. "Just call me Little Angel, will you? That's a good nickname after all," she suggested as she glanced at him.

Natsume was smirking behind his cat mask. "Where's the part of you that is an angel?" he mocked.

"At least we have nicknames for each other than you call me stupid and I call you meanie," she retorted.

He rolled his eyes again. It's not like he cared about the stupid name-calling. "Whatever. I don't care anyway." The lad let go off her hand and leaned his back on the wall. His hands were being shoved into his pockets.

They stayed in silence for a while. Even so, Natsume could feel he was being observed by the girl beside him. He didn't like it. He was about to complain when the girl broke the deafening silence between them. "Then I'll call you Black Cat. You're wearing a black-colored cat mask," she said.

"…And you want me to call you White Mask?" he teased her.

Gritting her teeth in irritation, she complained, "I have told you! My nickname is Little Angel!" She was sure she was going to be insane if the lad kept on mocking her like this. It's just about time before her anger passed the limit of her patience.

He snorted. "I won't call you that."

"And why is that?"

"Because there's no part of you that is an angel," he reasoned out calmly.

"Cocky Black Cat…" she murmured annoyingly.

"Whatever," was his only response. He looked at the direction where the girl came from and thought for a while. "…Is the way where you came from just now a dead end?" he asked by all of a sudden, drawing the girl's attention to him.

"No. There are still two ways back there, I took the middle path and here I'm now, being bullied by you," she ended mockingly.

Placing his bended-index finger on his chin, the fire caster grew quiet once again, thinking. "There are still two ways there, right?" he asked as he straightened himself. "We're going there." He then walked to the way where the girl just came from without hesitation.

"Hey! Wa-ouch!!" she winced in pain as she squatted and massaged her sprained ankle. Her sudden action just now reminded her to be careful of her wound. "Damn it…" she grunted.

Upon hearing her wince, Natsume glanced at her through his shoulder. "What now?"

She glared at him as she kept on massaging her ankle. "It's because of you that I sprained my ankle, you meanie!"

He stared back at her in boredom. "You're the one who kicked aimlessly," he retorted. "It's your own fault."

"Tch." She clenched her teeth, cursing the lad inwardly. She knew he was cold, but she hoped he wasn't as cold as that. Holding back the pain, the girl stood up and walked approaching the fire caster. "I'm fine now. Let's go," she grunted. 'It's not that hurt anyway…'

-x-

An hour had passed. Natsume and Little Angel were still walking in the dark cave, with his fire as the only light which illuminated their way. None of them was talking along the way.

Surely, there's an awkward feeling between them, but that's not the only reason they silenced each other on the way. They had to be more careful since they're in enemy's territory. They had fallen into a trap and didn't want to get into the deeper problem by arguing until the guards found them. So the silence was a good thing and also the right choice for their safety.

Nonetheless, something strange happened.

Little Angel realized the light got dimmer and dimmer in each second, until it was totally dark in a few seconds later.

Anxious with the sudden darkness, she closed her eyes to make it used to the dark place, hoping she could see her surrounding when she opened them later. But it's futile. The darkness was too thick for her to see.

"Um…Black Cat? It's dark all of a sudden. Are you okay?" she asked unsurely, but the said boy didn't reply or make any sound. "…Black Cat?" she called once again. Still, no one answered her.

The thought about she was being left behind made her feel more anxious. "Black Cat?" she called desperately as she took a step forward. Her leg bumped into something and she had an idea what it was…or rather, who it was. She brought her right hand in front of her, trying to feel anything.

But she felt nothing except the cold air.

She moved her hand down, followed by her body which was lowering down little by little. That was when her hand touched something.

"What are you doing with my hair?" Black Cat finally spoke out in the dark.

"Oh? It's your hair?" she asked as she pulled back her hand. "Are you okay? You didn't answer me when I called you."

"…None of your business," he replied coldly.

She frowned upon hearing his answer, dissatisfied. Somehow, she felt something was wrong with the lad. She lifted her hand again and brought it in front of her. It collided with something soft, yet wet. She guessed it was his shirt. Feeling the damp material, she assumed the lad was sweating heavily. This, of course, worried her for a bit.

"Hey, are you alright?" she asked gently.

"Shut up."

Little Angel twitched her eyebrows at his rude answer. 'What's wrong with him?' she thought as she felt sudden heat creeping onto her hand from the contact with his back. At the unusual degree of heat for a normal body of healthy person, she got more worried. 'Something's not right…'

The image of the brunette's sad face flashed briefly in her mind.

'_His alice is eating his lifespan every time he uses it.'_

'Is it…?' She had her eyes widened when the familiar feminine voice rang inside her head. Then the face of her trainer appeared in her mind replacing the brunette's image in the next second.

'_His alice will shorten his lifespan every time he overuses it.'_

'…Is it…because of his alice…?' she thought as she attached her attention to the darkness in front of her, the place where she believed he was kneeling at that time while trying to suppress his pain. Biting her lower lips, Little Angel pulled back her hand. She took out her pencil and opened her notebook. She wasn't going to let him use his alice for now. "Can you light up a fire? Just for a moment," she asked, trying to sound kind.

There was no reply or any reaction from Black Cat for a few seconds, but then a small fire suddenly appeared between them. Little Angel managed to catch the expression he had briefly at that time. He was pale and looked sick.

Not wasting any time again, she scribbled something on her notebook as the raven-haired boy glanced at her from the corner of his eye. After twenty seconds, she looked up and smiled at him. "You can put it out now," she said.

Natsume stared at her for approximately five seconds before he finally followed her suggestion to extinguish the fire. The moment the fire was being put out, darkness engulfed the two teens once again. But the darkness didn't last long this time.

A small light suddenly appeared from nowhere and illuminated the place where they kneeled down. Natsume turned around slowly and carefully, searching for the source of light. And to his question, he saw a flashlight in the black-haired girl's right hand as a silent answer.

He immediately wondered. He remembered perfectly he didn't bring any flashlight with him and neither did she. She just had the notebook in front of her chest with her. Then, how could a flashlight suddenly appeared in her hand from nowhere?

Panting, Natsume tried to focus his gaze on her. "…Where did you get it?" he asked while trying his best not to show his weakness in front of her.

"Just now," she replied lightly. "Sorry, I should have prohibited you from using your alice…" She looked at him with an apologetic gesture, since he couldn't read her expression because of the mask.

"…And why is that?" he asked suspiciously. He never shifted his gaze from her. The girl had so many mysteries lingering around her. Even what she said just now gave him feeling that she knew about him and his alice. But she was a stranger. A random girl he didn't know that suddenly appeared and got in his way when he's doing his missions. This could mean danger, especially because he hadn't known if she's an enemy or an ally.

She smiled at him, much to his surprise. "You know, your life is worthier than that," she said. "You still have friends you have to protect. Don't use your alice if it's unimportant."

'_Hey, don't use your alice too much. Your life is worthier than that.'_

'Hmph. That sketchbook girl also told me the same thing before,' he thought as he closed his eyes and leaned his head on the wall. He breathed deeply, hoping the pain he felt in her chest at that time would be gone in any second. "…So, where did you get that flashlight?" he asked in a bored tone.

Instead of replying, she kept on smiling at him. She then leaned her back on the wall too and hugged her knees while placing the flashlight on the floor, with the light facing the ceiling. "Are you tired?" the black-haired girl suddenly asked, breaking the silence between them.

"Tch. Who said I'm tired?" he asked back annoyingly. The truth was: he was tired. But his pride prevented him from admitting it in front of her, and everyone.

"I did. You're sweating and the fire was suddenly put out," she intoned. "You're tired."

"Whatever." He looked away.

The darkness might be gone, but not the deafening silence. Both of them drowned in their own thoughts. They didn't know how long they had been in the place. They knew they had to get out from there quickly, but they chose to stay silent, not arguing like what they would do if the lad was fine.

In the silence, Natsume's crimson eyes were roaming around their tiny spot and they stopped at the flashlight. He stared at the thing for a few moments as he remembered his discussion with the inventor at the cafeteria three days ago.

'_It has no machine in it. Nothing.'_

Without saying anything, he grabbed the flashlight, catching the attention of the girl who was sitting beside him at that time. "What's wrong?" she asked, confused by his sudden action.

Natsume didn't answer. He's searching for some kind of cap on the flashlight and finally found one at the bottom of it. He opened the cap with a 'click' and found no battery inside it. He shifted his gaze to the confused girl and asked, "…You have an alice?

Little Angel fidgeted uncomfortably. "Um…what's wrong with it?" she asked back.

"There's no battery inside this thing. How could it work? You must have used some kind of alice," he cornered her with his explanation.

"…Uh…Okay…You're right," she hesitantly admitted while playing with her hands.

He stared at her intently. "What's your alice?"

"Uh…you…don't have to know…" She looked away.

He bent his eyebrows. Suspicion arose inside him. "What are you hiding? …You're an enemy, aren't you?" he accused. His patience had almost reached its limit.

Upon hearing his accusation, the girl directly turned her head to him. "No!" She waved her hands in front of her. "Believe me! I'm not your enemy!"

"Then why don't you tell me what your alice is?" His voice deepened. Little Angel grew quiet, thinking what she should do so he would believe her. She couldn't tell him what her alice was. If she told him, there's a chance the enemy would know and she would be easily defeated by them.

"…Sorry…I can't tell you…" she muttered.

That's it. His patience had been gone. "What is your intention?" he growled, showing her that he didn't trust her at all.

A pang struck her heart. She felt hurt. Hurt because she wasn't trusted.

But what did she hope when she didn't trust him herself? Not telling her alice was the silent proof she didn't trust him, afraid the enemy would find out.

"…I can't tell…" she whispered, clutching the front of her shirt where the pain was felt.

Natsume was about to ask her once again. But before he could say a word, a bright light was suddenly being directed to them. Both of them instinctively lifted their arms to cover their eyes from the unexpected light.

"My, my. Look what we have here."

-x-

Setting his feet on the ground steadily, he looked up, seeing a certain gate standing firmly in front of him. Gentle breeze played with his hair and clothes, touching his bare skin lightly. A determination smile graced his lips.

"So, this is the Alice Academy…" he muttered. "…I've come for you…"

--To be continued--


	23. 23rd Piece: Breakout

**Mikan: Wow…This chapter is quite long…**

**Jacklyn: You said it.**

**illutia mist: It is, isn't it?? So let me go!! (Struggles because she is tied to the tree)**

**Natsume: No.**

**illutia mist: What?! Hotaru!! (Looks at her pleadingly)**

**Hotaru: A hundred rabbits for that.**

**illutia mist: I'm broke!! (Cries waterfall)**

**Mikan: (Shakes head) Poor girl…**

**Natsume: Scratch that. Poor freaky author.**

**Mikan: I better say the disclaimer. illutia doesn't own Gakuen Alice and its characters. And Bourne Severity belongs to Ryuamakusa4eva. (Smiles) Oh, and there's an addition in the previous chapter. Just skim to the last scene!**

**illutia mist: Hey!! Let me go!! Mikan!!**

**Mikan: Oh man… (Sweat drops)**

**Jacklyn: Noisy…**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**23rd Piece: Breakout**

"…This isn't what I think would happen to us…"

Natsume glanced at the black-haired girl who was sitting beside him. She drew her knees close to her chest and rested her chin on it. "And? You think we could escape while your ankle is injured?" He snorted. "If it's not because of you, we didn't have to sit behind these iron bars right now." He nodded his head to the iron bars in front of them.

Little Angel scoffed. "You know you could run without me back then. Why would you bother to save me?" she inquired while looking away and added in a low voice, "…It's not like you believe I'm here to save you…"

The raven-haired lad grew quiet as he thought about what had happened before. When they're engaged in small argument, a guard found them there. Well, he thought it's just one person, so he stood up and knocked him out. Right at the time when the unconscious guard fell to the floor, he heard footsteps come from the direction of their destination. Initiatively, Little Angel turned off the flashlight and they saw a few faint lights coming to the spot where they were standing.

They moved away from their spot, of course. They couldn't stay there and let the guards find them.

But luck wasn't on their side.

The wound on the girl's right ankle prevented her from walking faster. Natsume knew he could just leave her there and escape from the place alone, but something was bugging his conscience and telling him to help her.

So he did.

Grunting, he approached her and offered her a piggy back ride. And both of them went into another argument again, which caused them to be found after a few seconds later.

And here they were now, sitting side by side in one of jails in the small dark dungeon. Little Angel's flashlight as the only illumination they had. The dungeon wasn't too dirty, just a bit dusty. There's another jail again in the dungeon, but it's empty. It seemed like they're the only one who ever got into this place after God-knows-how-long.

Natsume sighed tiredly after he finished recalling the event. How stupid they were to be caught because they argued over a simple thing like a piggy back ride.

Yeah, it's just a simple thing. Little Angel rejected his offer, saying she could walk by herself. And here's the result of her stupid thought.

"We wouldn't be here right now if you threw away your damn pride and let me carry you…" he muttered annoyingly and saw her stiffen. He mentally cursed himself. He didn't mean to say it loudly.

Little Angel gritted his teeth. "I told you to go by yourself, cocky boy. You're the one who insisted to carry me," she retorted. "And besides, like I said before, you don't believe I'm there to help you, so why should you care?"

"Who said I care?"

"You gave the hint!"

"I'm not. You just concluded it by yourself."

"Oh yeah? So how about the piggy back ride offer?"

"You're slower than a turtle and look what that led us into now!"

"I told you to go away! You could just leave me there!"

"I was planning to-"

"Then why didn't you do it?!"

"Shut up, you two!!"

Both of them glared at each other while panting before they shifted their glares to the voice that told them to be silent. A tall red-haired man was standing at the other side of the iron bars and glared at the two captives. They didn't know when he came in and didn't bother about it.

"What?!" Little Angel and Black Cat said simultaneously. Both of them were still annoyed at each other, not to mention the situation they were at now worsened their temper.

The red-haired man shook his head at their rude comeback. "Do you realize your situation now? Don't make thing even worse."

"He started it!" Little Angel accused as she pointed her index finger to Natsume.

The fire caster glared at her and shoved her accusative finger away. "You're the one who started it," he growled. Then both of them exchanged glares once again.

Staring at the two, the man sighed while rolling his eyes. "I wonder what connection you two have…" the man said. "While here I thought the academy has sent another tool to accompany the Black Cat…"

The black-haired girl looked at the red-haired man with a frown forming across her lips. "I'm not the academy tool…" she grunted, which caught the older man's attention.

"You're not?" he asked, one of his eyebrows rose in wonder.

"No," she confirmed, still frowning.

"Really…?" His fingers rubbed his chin while he was thinking. "…So…Which organization you belong to? And what intention you have by sneaking into the AAO's branch base?"

His questions got Natsume's attention. Sure he was wondering about it, but he never asked her before. She had gone before he could ask anything. Now that the red-haired man asked the mysterious girl a few questions, he perked his ear to hear her explanation, hoping he could get some information from it.

The black-haired girl grew quiet for a few seconds before a lopsided smirk formed on her lips. "S.e.c.r.e.t." She stuck out her tongue.

The older man's smile twitched at her action. "Girl, I'm trying to be nice here…" he said as he forced to smile kindly. Too bad he couldn't hide his anger well, because the two teens saw one or two veins pop on his head.

Little Angel stood up and faced him, her hands on her hips. "If you're trying to be nice, then why don't you just let us out and we have a tea party?" she mocked.

Natsume looked at her in amusement. A moment ago, she looked concerned about him and hurt. And now, she looked annoyed and asked for a fight. Seriously, what's with this girl? Was she PMSing?

"Girl, look…" The red-haired man rubbed his temple in frustration. "Could you just tell-"

"Reo," another man walked into the dim room and approached the red-haired man, cutting off his sentence.

"What?" Reo shot him a glare. He had been annoyed since their female captive acted up and he didn't want to hear any bad news. The man moved his lips near to his ear and whispered something. Whatever it was, it was a good news for him since Natsume saw a smile tugging at his lips.

"I see…" the red-haired man muttered as he looked at Little Angel. His eyes glinted maliciously and his smile turned into a smirk. He looked back at the other man and said, "Well, don't worry. I won't do anything to her…for now…"

The other man nodded and walked out from the room, leaving the three of them alone once again. Reo then turned his attention to the captives and smirked. "Lucky, aren't we?" he said. He fixed his gaze to the black-haired girl again and smirked wider. "You don't know what you have gotten yourself into, little girl," he mumbled as he walked away.

Little Angel's gaze followed his movement until he stopped at the door and stretched his hand to grab the doorknob. "Poor pawn," she heard him say before he opened the door and walked away from her sight.

Natsume blinked and glanced at Little Angel. She was just standing there, not making any move. Her attention was still on the door where Reo just walked out. There's no anger or irritation emitted from her, only wonder.

Maybe she was thinking the same thing with him. The last word which Reo said sure brought another question to his head.

'_Poor pawn.'_

He wondered who the man referred to. Was it him…? …Or her…?

-x-

Mikan was lost in her thought. Her eyes were on the blackboard, but her mind was somewhere else.

Misaki was the teacher of the day. He taught Biology and now he explained something about respiration to them. Most of students were holding their heads in frustration. They would have a pile of beautiful terms of Biology to be memorized later for the exam next week.

But the explanation couldn't enter the brunette's head. The thoughts of a certain fire caster filled her head, acting as a barrier which prevented them to get in. She surely would have problem to learn all of it by herself again, but she didn't seem to care anything about that right now.

She stole a few glances to the seat which was just beside her now and then, and couldn't help but feel anxious about her partner's safety. It's almost lunchtime but there's no sign that he would come back soon. She wondered if he would come back in fine condition.

To think about the difficulty of the mission he did now already made her shiver. What if she never saw him again?

The thought made her bite her lower lip unconsciously. Her heart got ache by all of a sudden as she thought of that possibility. Her hands moved and laced to each other under the desk as she closed her eyes. The teacher seemed not to realize her small action and was too engrossed in his own explanation as he scribbled more words on the blackboard to definite the lungs and its function.

Her jaw clenched as she prayed inwardly. She didn't know since when she started this habit every time he went to his mission. But at least, this was the only thing she could do.

'Please be alright…'

-x-

If there's something could definite how bored it was not to be able to do anything, maybe it's like what they did now: trapped in an abandoned dungeon in enemy's base without knowing when the freedom would approach them and did nothing, except waiting and waiting.

Jacklyn was bored. She didn't know long she and Natsume had been waiting there for someone to come, either it's to save them or punish them. She would be glad if it's backup, but she doubt it.

It's good that she had her small sketchbook with her; the one which Hirai gave to her in her first mission. At least she had something to do than the fire caster, who just could stare at the ceiling or close his eyes and lean his head to the iron bars helplessly. Well, that's one of the advantages to have drawing alice.

As she started to scribble on the small sketchbook, she could feel Natsume's gaze on her. She tried her best to ignore the uncomfortable stare. Her hands didn't stop scribbling on the white surface in front of her. She tried to concentrate, at least until she finished her first drawing.

Minutes passed and the fire caster had no intention to avert his eyes away from her. Jacklyn's eyebrows twitched at the burning stare…or glare. The last line was pulled successfully before she sighed and shifted her attention to him.

"May I ask why you look at me like that?" she asked boringly.

The fire caster raised an eyebrow while tilting his head slightly. "Like what?"

"Like you would burn me into a crisp," she mumbled in a sarcastic tone as she pretended eyeing her artwork.

"I would be glad if you turn to a crisp for real," he replied nonchalantly. Jacklyn glared at him, wishing she could choke him at that time. Oh yeah, she would, if it's not because she was there to make sure he come back to the academy in good shape.

Rolling her eyes away from his figure, Jacklyn sighed and wondered when she could get out from this dusty jail and had her peaceful life again. She also wondered if there's someone who had found her missing from the hospital. She hoped there's no one coming to her room, at least until she came back.

BAM!!

Jacklyn and Natsume turned their heads to the door in alert upon hearing the loud explosion. The door was still standing there, untouched. She wondered where the loud sound came from and what happened outside.

The next things she heard were the sound of alarm announcing there's an intruder inside the building and a few sounds of explosion again. Was there really someone who was sent to save them?

Correction. To save Natsume.

No one in the academy knew she was in mission except Hirai, so it's quite impossible if the academy sent someone to help both of them. Well, it would be another story if the intruder was Hirai.

…Except if Hirai told the academy that she was in the mission with Natsume too. That would be bad for her. She would be found out. There were two possibilities she could think of if she was caught: the academy would think her alice wasn't good enough to be used in missions, or they would give her more missions because of it.

And it would be worse than making sure Natsume was fine in every mission.

BRAK!!

Jacklyn let out a surprised shriek when the door was suddenly thrown to the other side from its original place by all of a sudden. Placing one hand on the wall for the support, she used her free hand to rub her chest trying to calm down her heartbeat because of the flying door.

Natsume stood up in alert and shifted his attention from the broken door to the opened way at the other side of the room. The drawing alice-user followed his gaze to the way where the light came in. Two figures were thrown to the same side where the door was thrown before in high speed.

'Wow…poor wall…' Jacklyn thought, flinching at the loud 'thud' when the poor men dropped to the floor. The damages they had weren't that bad, but it must be hard enough to knock them out at once.

She shifted her gaze to the door-less way and saw a figure walking inside calmly. She scrutinized the new person. It's a boy with spiky blonde hair. The midnight-blue color mask was blocking her from seeing his face. But somehow, the aura he emitted was almost the same with Natsume's. He wore simple black T-shirt and pants, with both of his hands in the pockets.

He stared at the unconscious men for a while, making sure they really passed out before turning his attention to the captives. He approached them casually and stopped right in front of the fire caster. The only thing which separated them was the iron bars.

"…You…" The drawing alice user heard the raven-haired boy say. His tone was somewhat surprised and also annoyed.

The spiky blonde-haired boy tilted his head to the side slightly. "He sent me here, since you took too long to come back," he said coolly.

"…I don't need your help…" Natsume grunted.

The other boy shrugged and pulled his right hand out from his pocket. A key was dangling between his index and middle finger. "So, I assume you don't need this?" he asked as he shook the key in front of the annoyed fire caster.

The raven-haired boy growled quietly. Jacklyn looked at the two and blinked, wondering if they had some kind of relationship. And she was sure it's not a good one.

-x-

He didn't remove his glare from the spiky blonde-haired boy in front of him. He knew perfectly who the boy was. An old friend, or rather, an old enemy. "I thought you were sent out to the abroad academy?" he asked irritatingly.

The other boy shrugged again, moving his fingers and playing with the key in his hand. "Well, apparently the academy in USA is quite safe for now and they decided to send me back to Japan. What could I say?"

Natsume clicked his tongue. "In other word, they gave you vacation in Japan, huh?"

"You could say that," was the blonde-haired boy simple reply. He turned his gaze to the black-haired girl with white mask. "Who's that? Your girlfriend?"

The fire caster snorted. "Hell no. I don't have anything to do with the stupid white mask. She's the one who got me into this situation."

"Hey! Don't you dare to blame me!! I have told you to go and you're the fool one to stay with me!" Little Angel protested, clenching her fist in the air.

Natsume rolled his eyes. "See who's talking. PMSing girl…"

"What did you say?!" she snarled.

The blonde-haired boy shook his head. "I think you two need more private time here…"

"Hah! No way!" Little Angel crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'll be dead if I'm being locked here with him for another hour!"

"I'm the one who should have said that," the fire caster grumbled. He had been tremendously bored ever since Reo left him alone with her for hours. She also just ignored him and drew something random on her small notebook. If there's someone who wanted to get out from this place quickly, it's him. "Just open the door so we could get out from this place quickly."

The blonde-haired boy shrugged. "Su-"

"There he is!"

Two guards ran into the room and attacked the spiky blonde-haired boy. Instinctively, the boy stomped his foot on the ground where he stood and jumped quite high into the air, flipping his body swiftly and sent a kick to the guard's back hardly before landing gracefully on the floor with another foot.

He quickly ducked right at the time when another guard sent a punch to his direction from behind. Stretching his right leg, he slid it swiftly and kicked the guard's legs. The guard lost his balance and fell down to the floor.

But that wasn't enough to make the man unconscious.

He rolled to the side right on time when the first guard sent a punch to his previous spot. He then kneeled on one knee, his eyes never leaving the guard. The second guard stood up and moved behind the first guard.

He saw his chance.

Leaping towards the guard, he prepared his fist which was being wrapped by a chain of sparks. When he was near enough, he shoved the sparkly fist to them and planted it right on the stomach of the first guard. Both of them were thrown to the outside of the dungeon and hit the wall hardly before sliding down to the floor in unconscious.

"What a troublesome." He clapped his hands to sweep off the dust from it and looked at the fire caster. "And you were caught by them?"

Natsume grunted. "The stupid white mask is the one who made me be caught by them," he mumbled while jerking his head to the frowning Little Angel.

"And I told you-"

The blonde-haired boy raised his hand to the black-haired girl. "We better stop this conversation before it turns into argument and more guards come here for us," he suggested as he shoved the key into the keyhole. Little Angel grunted in reply.

Natsume stared at the lock while the blonde-haired boy turned the key and 'click', it opened. He pushed the iron bars and stepped out when he remembered something. "And who will take stupid white mask? Her right ankle is injured," he said coolly.

"I'm Little Angel! Not white mask!!" He heard her say, rolling his eyes at her protest. Didn't she realize he had called her 'white mask' three times?

The spiky blonde-haired boy looked at him. "Is that the cause of this trouble?"

"You guess it right."

"I think she'll be okay by her own."

Upon hearing this, Natsume stared at him in confusion. "And why is that?"

The other boy pointed to Little Angel with his thumb. Natsume followed the direction where his thumb pointed and looked at the black-haired girl up and down. A pair of black roller-skates was on her feet.

She grinned widely. "Need one?"

-x-

He couldn't move his eyes from her after what had happened. The question in his mind was bugging him once again after they were forgotten for hours since he was caught by the guards. Now they were on the escape, the question came engulfing him once again. Where did she get those roller-skates from?!

THUD!

"Okay. That made it twenty." Little Angel huffed, sweeping the sweat on her forehead with the back of her hand. Her right hand clutched her gun close to her chest as her eyes were still on the guards she had tied just now.

"Not good enough," Natsume commented as he knocked down another guard by hitting the nape part.

The black-haired girl sent a glare to the raven-haired boy. "At least, they're tied. It's better than nothing."

"And if you two keep on arguing like that, more of them will come," the spiky blonde-haired boy said while approaching them. "Are you two always like this?"

She stretched her right hand and moved it up and down in rhythm, relieving it from stiffness. "Strangely, it's always him who starts to mock me first," she grunted as she glared at the fire caster knowingly.

"THERE THEY ARE!!"

"Oh hell…" she muttered in annoyance. "Why don't they decide they need a rest and stop to chase us?" She pushed her roller-skates a bit and fled from the place.

"They're paid for this, not resting," Natsume remarked calmly while running behind her. After he rejected her offer to get another roller-skaters, he couldn't stop eyeing those roller-skates she used to glide on the floor smoothly. And now, he also had another thing to be eyed on; the rope-gun in her hands.

He didn't know how she managed to bring those things since he didn't see her bringing bag or anything with her earlier. It seemed like all those things just popped up from nowhere like a magic. Oh yeah, she might just need to say out what she wanted and 'poof!', they're already appeared in front of her just like that.

This was ridiculous. There's no such thing like magic in this world!

…Wait. Magic was almost the same with alice. But what kind of alice that resembled magic like that?

"We couldn't keep on running in this corridor until the exit," the blonde-haired boy said by all of a sudden while running beside the fire caster. "I believe they have blocked it by now after the alarm."

"I know," Natsume muttered. "If there's another way…"

"How about that?" Little Angel suddenly stopped after they turned at a corner. The spiky blonde-haired boy and Natsume stopped to see the girl pointing her finger to one of the large windows on the side of the bright corridor.

"…We crush the window?" Natsume asked unsurely. Behind the window was a forest. It's thick enough to hide them from enemies after they ran into it.

"Well…" the girl mumbled as another gun appeared in her other hand. Its shape was like Hotaru's Baka Canon. The fire caster raised an eyebrow again seeing the gun. Where did she get that from now?

"What are you trying to do?" he asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Little Angel smirked. "Of course, shoot it."

The moment she pulled the trigger, a stone with the size of an adult's fist came out from the hole and crashed the window in high speed. The sound of shattering glass was so loud that he was sure the guard would find them easily if they were close to their current position.

"What the heck was that?" the fire caster asked after he recovered from the shock.

"Do you know what a group of people do if they do remonstration?" the black-haired girl asked calmly as she took a few steps back until her back was just a few inches from the wall.

Natsume saw her every movement, wondering what she would do next. "What?"

She smiled. "Throwing stone." After that, she ran to the glassless window and jumped before the stuck-out glass could tear her clothes or skin, going into the thick forest.

The fire caster was stunned for a while at her action, watching her shadow being swallowed by the trees and bushes. In the next second, his right arm was being grabbed by the other boy and both of them ran to the glassless window like what the girl did just now.

"If you stayed like that, they would find you," the blonde-haired boy said as they jumped to the other side of the building and ran into the forest until they were sure they were already safe. "Who's the girl?" he asked while running deeper to the random direction. "Another student?"

Being in daze, Natsume didn't answer his question. He kept running until he felt something sting his right arm. "Ow!" he yelped before he abruptly stopped and turned to the blonde-haired boy with a hard glare. "What the hell was that for?"

The blonde-haired boy stopped and looked at him. His left hand was still being surrounded by the sparks, which Natsume suspected was the thing he sent to shock him before. "You're daydreaming too much, Black Cat. If you keep on like that, you'll meet your death sooner," he reasoned out. "And I asked you, is the girl another student the academy recruited for the mission?"

Natsume grew quiet for a while. "Maybe not. She doesn't know Persona or AAO," he answered as he cupped his chin, thinking. "…I don't know why she always showed up when I did mission too. Maybe it's just a coincidence…"

The other male nodded in understanding. "I see…How many times she showed up when you're in mission?"

"Just two times. This is the second time she showed up."

"Two times straight?"

"Yeah."

"Hm…Anyway, have you gotten what Persona told you to get?" the blonde-haired boy asked, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah." The fire caster took out a small tube from his pocket. "It's good that they haven't interrogated us back then."

"Good. Then we have no business in this place again. Let's get out of here," the blonde-haired boy said as he walked away nonchalantly.

"I know," Natsume grumbled. The irritation he felt when the boy showed up in front of him had come back again. "You don't have to tell me that." He followed him, noting inside his head that he would ask Persona about the sudden arrival of his old enemy later.

-x-

"My poor body…" Jacklyn muttered as she sprawled her upper body on her desk. The missions started to kill her slowly, draining her energy from her body in a huge amount. Not to mention what she had just experienced this morning.

After she thought the fire caster was safe with the mysterious spiky blonde-haired boy, she decided to leave them and come back to the academy as fast as she could. She managed to get into her room at the hospital in time, greeted by the face of her current trainer, Hirai.

What she couldn't believe was: Hirai hid in the restroom and pretended to be her when the nurse came to check on her!

The nurse thought she had stomachache after the long sleep. She even needed one hour to convince the nurse before she finally let her go to the class; of course after the nurse did a few examinations to her. That trainer of hers really just made her mood turn bad.

She wasn't fast enough to get lunch when it's lunchtime. The bell rang when her feet stepped at the entrance door and she quickly ran to her class before she was late. Could this day be even worse?

"You look like you just did marathon through all Tokyo's streets, Jacklyn-chan…" Mikan said, staring at the suffering girl in front of her.

Jacklyn straightened herself and stretched her arms up, earning a few cracking sounds from her own body. Her lips mouthed 'ow' silently as she massaged her shoulder with her hand. "Let's just say…This isn't my good day…" she muttered gloomily.

"Okay…" The brunette looked at her unsurely.

The door opened and Narumi came in with his usual smiling face, only it was brighter today. He strolled to the teacher's desk and placed his books on it. When he clapped his hands, the students grew quiet and paid their attentions to him; probably didn't want to be his alice's victim.

Jacklyn rested her elbows on the desk then put her chin on her palms as she heard the teacher speak, "I have good news, my dear students! We'll have new students today! Aren't you happy?"

'Boo!' was heard everywhere after he finished talking. The black-haired girl shook her head inwardly. Tthe only thing that might make the students squeal in happiness was: if he announced there was no class for today and no homework. That was what you called good news.

Narumi sweat dropped at their reactions. "Okay, we better just call them and immediately start the lesson." He sighed in upset. He thought they were happy to have new students in the class. "Come in, my children!"

The door opened once again, revealing Natsume who walked into the class casually. Students looked at him then they turned to Narumi with confusion written on their faces. Jacklyn sighed at the quietness. She just watched the fire caster walk to his seat and sit down on it without any care.

Mikan smiled. Seeing the fire caster in good condition made her relieved after the worry she had felt since morning.

"Er…Not him," Narumi quickly commented. "He's not new here. Er, you could come in now!"

A boy stepped in and walked to the center of the class. His hair was blonde and spiky. His eyes were closed as he walked. Above the academy's uniform that he wore, there's a black jacket which was reaching his bottom. When he finally reached the center, he faced the students and opened his eyes.

All of them gasped.

His eyes color was red, but it's not the same red with Natsume. It was blood-red.

"Ehm, why don't you introduce yourself?" Narumi asked nervously. Jacklyn raised her eyebrows at this. Somehow, she had a hint that the wavy-blonde haired teacher was a bit scared of him.

The new boy shot their teacher a glare before he looked at the students again. "Bourne Severity. Alice: electricity," he said. "Don't mess with me if you don't want to be sent to the hospital," he warned as he sent a dangerous glare to the class. Almost all of the students swallowed at his tone and glare.

Jacklyn blinked, noticing he was a bit similar to someone. She silently glanced to a certain fire caster from the corner of her eye. The raven-haired lad was sending a glare to the new boy. Strangely, there was a smirk on his face. She raised an eyebrow upon seeing the rare view, wondering what the expression meant.

She shifted her gaze back to the new student, only to find him standing in front of Hotaru's desk right now. The Ice Queen stood up and…what the hell??

He hugged Hotaru without being afraid he would be hit by her Baka Gun!

"It has been a long time, Hotaru…" he said.

All students, except Natsume, had their eyes widened and their jaws almost dropped to the floor, as if they saw something which could destroy the world in front of them. Yes, Jacklyn was one of them too. As far as she knew, the Ice Queen wouldn't let herself be hugged by anyone just like that! Not even Mikan!

They waited for the Ice Queen to use her Baka Gun or Baka Canon on the new guy, but it didn't come. Instead, the violet-eyed girl just sighed and replied, "Yeah, whatever. Can you let go off me now?"

Bourne did like what she asked. He let go off her and a smile was on his face. Smile! The second Natsume actually smiled! It hardly to be imagined after the glare and the warning he gave to the class. It looked like he would eat someone alive if they ever tried to approach him.

From the corner of her eye, Jacklyn accidentally caught Ruka's expression. His expression was somewhat surprised and hurt when he saw the scene. She raised her eyebrow again. Somehow, the animal-lover looked like he was…jealous…? …Was that even possible? She didn't know he had a crush on the girl who had blackmailed him for years.

She looked at Mikan, who had the same surprised expression like her before. She had feeling the brunette would ask her best friend a few questions later when they had time.

Jacklyn paid her attention to the blackboard once again and stifled a small yawn. She started to get tired. Folding her arms on the desk, she lay her head on it and closed her eyes. She wasn't sleeping for real, her ears still could hear the 'ah' and 'oh' sounds in the class.

"Okay. Bourne, your partner is Hotaru and you may take a seat beside her now," Narumi singsonged, as if the event was something that happened everyday. Tell him what? It's not!

As what he had instructed, Bourne took his seat beside Hotaru. The students' attentions were on Narumi once again. Narumi stared at the door confusedly. "I'm sure there's another…" he muttered.

Not long afterwards, a boy rushed into the class. His orange hair was a bit messy from the running. "Sorry! I bumped into a teacher and the papers she held was flying everywhere, so I helped her first!" he said as he tried to catch his breath.

Narumi smiled. "It's okay. You're not that late anyway."

The boy grinned and walked to the center of the class, still panting lightly. There were a few whispers in the room escorted him as he walked. When he finally arrived in front of the class, he faced the class and smiled brightly. "Well, good afternoon, everyone!" he said cheerily. He glanced around the class with his bright smile.

"I'm-" He stopped by all of a sudden. His blue eyes were looking at a certain direction. His face had a surprised expression on it for a few seconds before his lips finally curled into a smile. Students whispered a bit louder this time as they saw him walking to a certain direction. Satisfaction was seen on his face. Narumi's gaze followed his movement in wonder.

His feet stopped right beside the desk in front of Mikan. His eyes brightened up when he saw the sleeping girl and his smile widened.

Jacklyn wrinkled her eyebrows. She could sense someone standing in front of her because the light, which was piercing through her eyelids before, was gone by all of a sudden. She opened her eyes for a bit and stared at the academy's boy uniform. Bending one of her eyebrows, she inwardly asked, 'Who the heck is this?'

"I never thought we'll be in the same class," she heard him say. Now she really wondered who had disturbed her peaceful rest.

Reluctantly, she lifted her head and moved her eyes up until she saw his face. Her face then turned shocked like she just saw a horrible monster in front of her. A loud gasp escaped from her parted lips by accidentally. The orange-haired boy was staring down at her, still with the dazzling smile on his face.

"I found you at last."

--To be continued--


	24. 24th Piece: A Talk with an Old Friend

**illutia mist: (Keeps weeping at the tree)**

**Mikan: …I pity her…**

**Jacklyn: Don't. You'll be fooled by her.**

**Natsume: (Rolls eyes) Polka is stupid anyway.**

**Mikan: What?! I'm not stupid!!**

**Natsume: Stu-pid. (Sticks out his tongue)**

**Mikan: (Hit his head with a board)**

**Natsume: Hey!! (Rubs his head as a vein pops on his head)**

**Mikan: (Holds the board above her head) Call me stupid again and I'll make you go to heaven.**

**Jacklyn: (Sweat drops) ...Guys…stop it…**

**Hotaru: (Takes out a video camera) Natsume Hyuuga is being bullied by the used-to-be-no-star girl. This will be interesting.**

**Jacklyn: (Looks at Hotaru) …Don't you think Mikan will be the one who will be hunted by the fan girls if they see this?**

**Hotaru: (Pretends not to hear and keeps on recording) You better do the disclaimer for the pathetic author.**

**illutia mist: (Cries hardly)**

**Jacklyn: (Rubs temple) …the freaky author, illutia mist, doesn't own Gakuen Alice and its characters. She just owns this plot…and me…which sucks for me. And Bourne Severity belongs to Ryuamakusa4eva.**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**24th Piece: A Talk with an Old Friend**

She couldn't move her dark-brown eyes from the male figure in front of her. It seemed like, just by seeing him, she was turned into stone. And no, he's not a basilisk or witch that cursed all people who saw them into stone. He was just a boy, a simple natural boy with blue eyes and orange hair. At least that was what she thought.

"I assume you don't remember me?" she heard him ask. But she didn't answer, for she was still over surprised to see him there.

'What? How? When? Why?' were questions that dominated her brain at that time. The tiny space inside her head had been too full to register another question or words beside her own confusion.

The boy tilted his head a bit, still with his wide smile gracing his face. He could see surprise and confusion written on her face and he didn't blame her for being like that. He kept on smiling, waiting until the girl in front of him got over her shock.

Three blinks later, her eyes turned back to its normal size, though she still didn't avert her gaze from him. She lifted her hand and poked his arm, which was laying still by his side. She stopped after the first poke, just staring at the spot her finger jabbed seconds ago. Then two seconds later, she started to poke it again. Two pokes, three pokes, and the act continued until the tenth poke.

The boy blinked at her act and chuckled. "Do you remember me, but you don't believe it?" he asked, catching her by surprise.

She pulled back her hand and looked up at him, eyes wide once again. "…Are you…really…?" she stuttered, disbelief evident in her eyes.

The class was silent in wonder, as if there was a live show drama playing in front of them. Hotaru and Bourne just looked at them indifferently, as well as the fire caster. Narumi blinked in every minute, wondering what was happening at that time.

The orange-haired boy blinked once in understanding. "Yes," he said, "it's me."

Jacklyn froze. "…Jack…?"

He smiled brightly at her answer, and Jacklyn immediately knew. Her answer was right.

-x-

"Who is Jack?"

The drawing alice user looked up from her food upon hearing the question. Mikan was sitting in front of her, hand clutching the spoon filled with fried rice, curious look on her face. Jacklyn looked back to her food, fried noodle, and put down her spoon as she sighed and said, "…Jack is…Jack."

The brunette blinked. "Yeah…I mean…is he your childhood friend?"

Jacklyn glanced at her and rolled her eyes up to the ceiling for a while, thinking. "…No…not really…" she simply replied.

"So?"

She shifted her attention back to the brunette, who was waiting patiently for her answer while sipping her drink, then looked back at her food. Truth to be told, Jack wasn't her childhood friend. No, he's not. She was confused how to describe him to the brunette. They indeed were old good friends, but not in reality.

The voice of the crowd in the cafeteria was heard so loud in her ears that afternoon, preventing her from thinking the right words to explain to the brunette who the new orange-haired lad was. Not to mention she was still tired from the mission she had to do that morning. Why was she at the cafeteria that afternoon? It was because she hadn't had breakfast and lunch, and her stomach already demanded food inside them. Mikan, whose stomach had also made a loud sound, joined her since she had nothing to do.

Jacklyn heaved another sigh. She rubbed her temple, hoping it would help her to concentrate more. "Well, you see…he is…"

"Mikan-chan! Jacklyn-chan!"

Both girls turned their heads to the voice's direction, only to see Anna and Nonoko waving at them from the entrance door. Mikan waved back at them, while Jacklyn just gave the girls a smile. The twins strolled to their table and sat down beside them; Anna was on the right side of Mikan and Nonoko was on the left side of Jacklyn.

"Where's Hotaru-chan, Mikan-chan?" Anna asked, looking at the brunette in curiousity.

"I think she's in her lab. She said something about making more productive things," Mikan answered as she smiled.

Jacklyn smile inwardly upon hearing that. She barely knew the inventor, but couldn't help thinking that it was just so Hotaru. She had seen a few inventions the raven-haired girl created and most of them indeed were useful, though there were a few things she didn't understand what they were used for.

"And where are the others?" Nonoko butted in.

Mikan shrugged. "I don't know about Koko and Yuu, but Ruka must be with Natsume again. Maybe they're wandering around the school field." The indigo-straight haired girl nodded in understanding and asked another question to start a conversation.

Jacklyn didn't talk too much for the rest of the afternoon. She just ate her lunch and drank her lemon tea while listening to their conversation. She did give comment once in a while if she felt like it. The discussion about Jack had seemed to be forgotten by the brunette and she didn't know she should be happy about this or not.

That afternoon passed in a blur. Jacklyn had no idea how she finished her food (which she didn't bother at all as long as she was stuffed) and how she walked out from the cafeteria without bumping into other students. What she knew was she was walking beside Mikan now. The brunette was busy chattering with the twins while she was just walking in silence and just listening to their chat, like what she had done in the cafeteria before.

While walking, she thought of something to do in that day. Her mind was floating somewhere else as she pondered.

"Jacklyn."

She snapped out of her thought upon hearing her name being called. Turning her head to face the brunette, she smiled and asked, "Yeah?"

"We're planning to go to Central Town after this. Do you want to come?" Mikan asked, her eyes sparkling in happiness.

Jacklyn blinked and thought for a while. "…But I thought you should ask Natsume if you want to go to Central Town?"

The brunette's smile turned into a frown. "…You're right."

The black-haired girl immediately felt guilty after she saw her friend's unhappy face. She hated the fact that she had ruined her joy, but that was the truth. She was no longer Mikan's partner after Jack's appearance. After she revealed the orange-haired boy's name in shock, Narumi thought they knew each other (which they did) and asked her to be his partner.

She couldn't decline it of course, since she also didn't have partner; if it's not because Mikan offered herself to be her partner in the first place which made her Natsume's second partner. But as a 'good' partner, she left him after the class was over, once again, due to the tiredness and hungriness she felt. She really couldn't think of anything at that time. Her body moved on its own.

Yeah…so…she left him…because she was hungry…

She sighed and rubbed his forehead. That was a stupid reason to leave his partner, who was completely unfamiliar with the school route, just because she was hungry and the miserable sound of her stomach got the best of her. She would have to make up for this later.

"Hey."

She froze for a while upon hearing the voice. Her eyes were still on the brunette and the twins, who had their heads turned to the voice's direction the moment they heard it. Slowly, she craned her neck to the voice's direction. And there he was, leaning on the wall in front of her, staring at her with his trademark smile on his face.

The other three girls were looking at the two by turns, wondering at the exchanged glances. Jacklyn stood still, eyes just staring at the lad, unmoving. Her lips then parted a bit as she asked, "Need anything?"

He chuckled. "Yes. I need to talk to you."

She raised an eyebrow. "Sure. I also want to ask you something."

His smile widened as he detached himself from the wall. "Then, shall we?"

Jacklyn looked back at Mikan and the twins. They smiled at her in understanding and encouraged her to go with the new boy. She smiled back at them and nodded. "I'll see you guys tomorrow," she said as she waved at them and walked to the orange-haired boy who had been waiting for her.

Jack cast a last smile at her before turning away and leading their way.

She was just staring at his back, following him every step while wondering what he wanted to talk about.

-x-

Natsume sat silently on one of the seats in an empty classroom, legs resting on the desk in front of him. His crimson eyes followed the movement from his so-called trainer, Persona, who was walking back and forth in front of the class with unknown documents in his hands. At the front row of seats, a boy with spiky-blonde hair was sitting on a desk with eyes closed, listening to his i-pod.

The fire caster clicked his tongue and glanced outside the window. Trees and bushes were everywhere at the other side of the glass material. A few kids could be seen playing hide and seek under the trees. Happy and joy were on their faces as they ran and searched for a place to hide themselves from their friend. There was no trace of worry or sadness in their faces. They were still pure and innocent.

Unlike him.

His mind had been tainted by hatred and anger. His skin had been tainted by blood, his victims' blood. He wasn't pure inside and out again, not like what he used to be. The invisible hands from darkness had chained him for a long time. Even though he had found his light, he wouldn't be able to reach it. The hold was strong; too strong that no matter how hard he tried, he wouldn't be able to get away from it.

He could just secretly smile in darkness whenever he saw the unreachable light in front of him. He had decided to stop struggling to free himself from the invisible chain, as long as all people that he loved would always be in the light side, even Ruka, who had known about the darkness he belonged to.

The kid was now searching for his friends. When he found one of them behind the bushes, a bright smile spread widely on his face. Both of them laughed and went searching for the other kids. Natsume kept on watching them in silence, eyes following their movements. He didn't felt the creepy silence which engulfed the Dangerous Ability classroom again. As he watched the kids playing, he felt like he was being there with them, standing under the tree, listening to the kids' laughter and soothing sound of wind.

It would be nice to be relaxed for sometimes; no mission, no sudden pain, no disturbance. He barely felt those times. Once he felt it, it would be hard for him to let it go, the serenity that he longed for among his hatred towards the world and his tiredness to live.

Even though all of it was just in his imagination.

He closed his eyes for a while, trying to realize his imagination into his head, his sight, his hearing, and his sense. Faintly, he could feel it. Even it was just the sound of wind and his view was still dark.

"Black Cat."

He groaned inwardly at the cold voice that woke him from his thoughts. He opened his eyes and looked at his Dangerous Ability class teacher in irritation. Persona was staring back at him with arms crossing in front of his chest, the documents still in his hands. Bourne was also staring at him too, one of his earphones in his ear.

Persona tilted his head a bit. "Did you space out, Black Cat?" he asked, mocking tone in his voice.

Natsume just looked at him sharply. No word came out from his lips. Why couldn't that man let him dream about his freedom even for a while? Was it forbidden for him even just to dream of it?

"None of your business," he answered irritatingly.

Persona's lips turned formed a sly smile. "Bad mood as always, Black Cat," he teased.

The raven-haired lad didn't answer. He gritted his teeth behind his lips, holding back the annoyance and anger he felt towards the man. It was good that he had learned to keep all of his emotions to himself. If not, he might have snarled at him and picked up a fight, which would just make him waste his lifespan for using his alice in a useless battle.

Natsume's eyes flickered. "Yes," he said. "I wonder what he," he pointed at Bourne, "does in this country."

Bourne raised one of his eyebrows at the lad's pointed index finger. "I've told you that the academy in USA has been safe for now, so they decided to send me back to Japan," he answered relaxingly.

Crimson eyes narrowed. "I've heard that from you this noon."

"Then why did you ask again?"

"I asked him," he said as he pointed to Persona, "not you."

Bourne shrugged. "Suit yourself. The answer will be the same though," he remarked, "though it would be better if you hear it from the person itself."

Persona shook his head and approached the teacher's desk to put down the papers. "Like what he had said before, he came here because the Alice Academy's branch in USA sent him back since they have been safe for now," he explained. "It seems like the AAO in there retreated to make a new plan to attack. A few students with strong alices at the academy had been chosen to watch and protect the place for now."

"The AAO in there retreated? Completely?" Natsume asked in interest. Persona nodded slightly at this and looked back at the documents on the desk. The fire caster blinked once then leaned his back on the back of his chair, registering the information in his head.

AAO, stood for Anti Alice Organization, was Alice Academy's lifetime opponent. They had fought them all this time, preventing them from kidnapping the alice users and trading them abroad or training them to be used as one of their allies. He ever encountered with a few of them which were led by Reo Mouri. Yes, Reo, the red-haired man he met this morning when he was caught by AAO along with Little Angel.

'_Poor pawn.'_

Natsume grew quiet. He remembered what the man said before he went out from the dungeon they were hold in. Those two words of his quite intrigued him. If it was him, it quite made sense since he was being the academy's tool.

'_You don't know what you have gotten yourself into, little girl.'_

That was what Reo said before he said those two words. Did that mean she was also a pawn too? But she wasn't from the academy…right?

"…Do you know someone nicknamed Little Angel?" Natsume asked all of a sudden without looking at his teacher.

Behind his white mask, Persona glanced at his student. "No. I don't recall there is anyone with that nickname in this academy," he answered simply.

Natsume fell silent once again. One thing he had made sure was that the girl wasn't one of the students in the Alice Academy. But she had alice, right? And she said she was being sent by someone too. Who was that? And why?

Bourne watched the raven-haired lad closely for a few seconds before he closed his eyes and listened back to his i-pod.

After thinking for a few minutes and still having no idea about it, Natsume chased the thought away, averting his eyes from the man to the window. There was no kid playing under the trees again. He assumed they had gone back to their dormitory, since sun had started to set in the west. Today would be over in a few hours again, and a new day would begin. He wished Persona would just dismiss them now, so he could go back to his room and take a rest.

Two figures caught his attention by all of a sudden. An orange-haired boy was walking past the forest, followed by a black-haired girl behind him. One of his eyebrows rose at this view. If he wasn't wrong, he remembered the orange-haired boy was Jack. To know that he had a relationship with the sketchbook girl this morning quite surprised him. But if his eyes didn't deceive him, the black-haired girl herself was also a bit shocked when she saw the boy standing beside her desk.

'_Do you remember me, but you don't believe it?'_

Natsume was a bit confused at the sentence that came out from the orange-haired boy's lips.

What did he mean by that?

-x-

"Seriously, who are you?"

Jack turned his head to the black-haired girl beside him, a smile on his face. "I'm Jack," he answered shortly.

Jacklyn had a disbelieving look on her face. She still didn't believe him. She knew he might be right, but she couldn't believe this was really happening.

Jack shifted his gaze back to the view in front of them. Academy's wide green field was spread with sunset as the background. It was such a beautiful moment in the afternoon. To be able to see the sunset using her bare eyes made Jacklyn silent in amusement. When she was still in her house, she was too busy locking herself in her room and doing something else, so she never saw sunset this clearly. Clouds and academy's ground were bathed by its light, making it look like a painting which was dominated by red color. It was breathtaking.

"…How?" she asked unsurely, eyes still on the sunset.

The orange-haired boy kept smiling. "Which one is how?"

"All of them."

He laughed. "That will be a bit difficult to explain. My throat will be dry first."

Jacklyn rolled her eyes and leaned her back on the trunk of a tree behind them. She couldn't help but think he was too much like 'him'. His name, his physical appearance, his smile that was always on his face, and his playful comeback; all of them were exactly like 'him'.

But it was impossible, right?

"When did you appear?"

The simple smile was back on his face again. "A few minutes after the incident at the roof."

Jacklyn stared at nowhere in front of her again, registering the answer she got from him. "…I can't believe you," she muttered, closing her eyes.

"Aren't you happy to see me?"

The question made her open her eyes again in the next second. She looked at him, seeing that his gaze was on her too. Dark-brown met blue in a few seconds of deafening silence. Sun kept on setting down in the west. The only trace that was left was its red color along the horizon.

"I don't know," Jacklyn replied, breaking the stillness.

"Why?"

She fell silent for a while. "…Because it's impossible…" she said in a low voice, almost whispering.

After that, silence fell upon them once again. They were just staring at each other, as if they wanted to make sure which one of them that could stand the direct contact longer, as if the loser would get a punishment.

For once in this day, Jack's expression was serious. His trademark smile faded from his face. His stare was soft, but demanding at the same time. He wanted to know why she didn't believe him. They were old friends, old and good friends. That was what he believed in.

"My alice…" Jacklyn started, "…could just stand for twenty four hours…"

The lad didn't move or say anything. His attention was fully on her, waiting for her to finish her speech.

Jacklyn sighed. "It has been weeks since that happened…" she continued. "You should have been…"

"…Disappeared," he continued, immediately silencing her with his word. "I know that."

Her jaw clenched a bit at his answer, and both of them were back to the staring contest once again. Wind blew a bit harder, swaying the leaves and grass, as well as their hairs and uniforms. The remaining red color would be gone in a few minutes again and night would come soon, but they didn't seem to be affected by this. They still had one hour to go back to the dormitory.

The drawing alice user was struggling in her mind. A half of her started to believe him, but another half didn't. Rather, the other half was confused, demanding the truth to make it believe in him. Jacklyn clenched and unclenched her hands in nervousness. She wanted to know the truth, excited yet afraid. She was afraid that her power was a curse; the curse for her best friend she wanted to cherish in her imagination forever.

She pressed her lips together, picking up her decision. Taking a breath, she closed her eyes for a while before opening them again. "Explain."

He raised an eyebrow. "How did I arrive here?" he asked.

"How could you stand longer than my other creations?" she clarified what she meant.

The corner of his lips tipped up in a lopsided smile. "Because you wished it?" he said jokingly.

She blinked. "…You mean, if I wish it, I could make the drawing I want alive?"

Jack shrugged. "I don't know."

Jacklyn's lips curled down into a frown at his confusing answer.

"But it could be because you wished it and you unconsciously overused your alice," he added.

She went silent as she remembered the faithful day. That day, she indeed wished him to be alive since she felt so lonely after she avoided her friends. She prayed hard while clutching the drawing of his. But it was just too good to be true. "If I do that again, I can make the others like you too?"

Jack stared at her for a while and turned away. "It could be just a coincidence," he commented as he looked at the sky which had slowly turned dark. The weather started turning cold. They had to go back soon. "I might be the lucky one," he finished his sentence and turned his attention back to her. "You may get killed if you do it once again."

Jacklyn's gaze softened when she saw a glint of sadness in his eyes as he said his last sentence. He cared about her, yet she doubted him. They were best friends. He was her secret 'very' best friend though he wasn't real, well, used to be unreal.

But to find him alive and walking into her life was a bit surprising. He had just been in her thoughts for all this time. She never thought that after all she had wished for this since years ago, she would get surprised once he had turned to real. Perhaps she needed to give him chance; a chance to convince her, a chance to meddle with her life. She was the one who created him anyway. She must take responsibility for what she had done.

The drawing alice user heaved a submissive sigh, one of her feet kicking the grass under her. "Fine," she finally said, "I believe you."

Jack's lips formed a smile, his trademark smile. "That's so nice of you, creator," he teased.

She rolled her eyes. "Just call me Jacklyn. It's a bit weird to hear you call me 'hey' or 'creator'."

"Fine…Jacklyn." He winked at her, which she returned with an annoyed face.

"Don't wink at me. I don't like it," she growled as she turned away, intending to go back to the dormitory. A soft laugh escaped from his lips as he followed her from behind. "You better told me how you could arrive in this place later or I won't talk to you for months," she threatened in exasperation, wishing it could cease his laugh.

His laugh turned into chuckle. "As your wish, creator."

"Jack!"

He chuckled again.

"As your wish, Jacklyn."

--To be continued--


	25. 25th Piece: Worsening Pain

**illutia mist: …Can I go now?**

**Jacklyn: Nope.**

**illutia mist: B-but I have made it a bit longer this time!**

**Jacklyn: (Snorts) No matter how long it is, we won't let you go.**

**illutia mist: … (Cries)**

**Natsume: …What a crybaby… (Annoyed)**

**Jacklyn: (Grunts)You're right.**

**Mikan: (Sweat drops) …illutia doesn't own Gakuen Alice and its characters. She does own Jacklyn and Jack and this story's plot.**

**Natsume: And Bourne Severity belongs to Ryuamakusa4eva.**

**Jacklyn & illutia & Mikan: (Surprised) You just did the disclaimer?!**

**Natsume: (Glares at them) Shut up.**

**Hotaru: (Holds out a recorder) Recorder of Hyuuga's voice when he did the disclaimer. It will be a nice sell for the other authors. (Eyes sparkle)**

**Natsume: (Bends eyebrows) …Imai…**

**Jacklyn & illutia & Mikan: (Shakes head while sweat dropping)**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**25th Piece: Worsening Pain**

She wept, alone, in her dark silent bedroom. Her knees were drawn close to her chest, arms resting on it. Her head were buried in between the space created by her arms, messy wavy-black hair sprawling on her shoulders and upper limbs.

She just had a nightmare again, her long forgotten nightmare. It was about the time before she moved to Alice Academy.

She was only twelve year old when she entered the best Junior High School near her house. She had dreamed of a great school life since she was still in elementary. And she did. She had a great experience for three previous months. She had good grades, participated in school's activities and made so many friends. She enjoyed all of them, until an event occurred.

One of her best friends, at least that was what she thought, accused her for flirting with her boyfriend. She denied of course, but her so-called best friend didn't want to hear her. Therefore, the bully started. And it wasn't nice at all.

Her best friend had wide influence at their school and used it to make her former friends turn against her. A few students that sympathized with her couldn't do anything, for they were afraid they would get bullied later if they ever went near her. There were one or two students that were brave enough to defend her, but they ended up entering the hospital or moving to other school.

And she was alone again.

She hated it. She hated her former friends for bullying and leaving her, just because the one who told them had more power at the school. She was glad when she was taken to Alice Academy, far from her traitor friends. But ever since then, she had changed.

She had learned from the experience. Being weak wasn't helpful at all. She must have a wide influence in order not to get bullied again and she was drowning in the obsession.

Another quiet sob escaped from her lips as she remembered the bad experience and she blamed the non-alice girl for this. Because of the girl, the nightmare came to her again. The girl reminded her of her old self; so naïve, so weak, but acted strong. The difference between them was the dark-brown eyed girl had faithful friends with her, hanging around her and supporting her. Even though she had warned her what the consequence she and her friends would get if she was near them, they didn't care and their relationship went on.

She hated her. She hated her so much.

The door then opened. The light from the lamps at the corridor found their way into her dark room, illuminating her small figure. She didn't move, drowning too deep in her own lament.

"…Marika…?"

She moved slightly upon hearing her name being called, but she still didn't bother to lift her head.

A figure appeared at the door, its big shadow looming over her. "…Marika? …Did you have nightmare again?"

The weeping girl looked up, her face stained with tears, a few strands of her black hair sticking to her wet cheeks. Her teary turquoise eyes watched the figure walking to her direction. She waited until the figure stopped beside her bed and sat down on the soft material before she muttered, "…Suzuka…"

The light-green haired girl smiled a bit and stretched out her hand to wipe the strands of hair from Marika's face. "Something bugged me and I couldn't sleep. I thought you had a bad dream again…" she uttered softly.

"…Yeah…I did…" Marika admitted, wiping the tears from her eyes and cheeks using the back of her hands.

Suzuka stroked her wavy-black hair, staring at her in silence. She wondered why the girl always had nightmares lately ever since their second encounter with the sketchbook girl. She ever thought that it was because of the girl's alice which they hadn't known what it was yet, but Marika said it was just an usual nightmare. She hadn't heard anything from her what her nightmare was about. It seemed like the ice alice user had the same nightmare every day.

"…You can tell me what your nightmare is," she mumbled. "Maybe I could help you…"

Marika shook her head then looked up. "It's nothing, Suzuka," she smiled.

Suzuka nodded curtly at her answer and continued to stroke the girl's hair. Marika closed her eyes and enjoyed every soft stroke the wind alice user gave her, especially after the nightmare she had. "…Have the higher-ups found out about the incident?" she muttered, hesitation in her voice.

Suzuka's hand stopped moving, brown eyes gazing at the girl in front of her. "No…not yet…" she replied. "Your limiter isn't broken. Don't worry…"

The wielder of ice alice nodded. She owed the wind alice girl so much for the incident that happened a few days ago when she lost control of her alice. Her anger had passed her limit of patience at that time, thanks to a certain non-alice girl. Suzuka had to stop her by using her wind alice in quite high level, causing both of the girls to be thrown back hardly. That impact managed to prevent her from using her ice alice. After that, Suzuka quickly brought her out from the place, going to the other place that was far away from the incident spot so they wouldn't be suspected.

"…Did our members have gotten the picture when she has wings on her back?" Marika asked, eyes still closed.

Suzuka shook her head. "They haven't. The girl never uses those wings again." She then grew quiet for a while before saying, "…Don't you think it won't be useful? There are so many students with various alices in this academy. It won't affect her just by spreading the picture of her and her angel wings. They will just think she has wings alice."

Marika's eyes snapped open. "Then what should I do?" she asked, a bit irritated. "Do you want me to fight her once again? Because I will gladly do it."

"Marika…"

"Don't tell me to stop here and just leave her alone!" she snapped, hands curled into fists. "She has gotten on my nerves by accusing me with those non-sense statements last time! I won't forgive her!"

Bending her eyebrows in confusion, the light-green haired girl asked, "…Why do you hate her so much? You said it's because she's always hanging around Hyuuga. But seriously, Marika, I don't think so."

Her eyes flickered at her friend's statement, the same statement she ever heard from the girl she loathed so much. "So you take her side now?" she growled. "You believe her more than me?!"

"Marika, this isn't about I believe her or not," Suzuka butted in. "Your action towards her is just so diffe-"

"I hate her because she's messing with us! She is an eyesore to me! She must be taught some lessons for not obeying my warning!"

"Marika!"

Her stern shout silenced the angry girl. Suzuka's brown eyes were staring at their so-called leader in a sharp way. Her hand that was on Marika's hair now held the side of the ice alice user's head. "You must forget about her, Marika. I'm serious," she said when the other girl was about to open her mouth once again to protest. "You might not realize, but you become obsessed with her lately. At first you just want to teach her a lesson, but slowly you want to hurt her, kill her, and harm her in every way."

"I don-"

"No! You hear me," she cut her off again. "Forget her, Marika. Forget her and do your daily things like the time before she came to this academy. I beg you."

Silence fell upon them for a few minutes. Their conversation was continued by staring and glaring at each other. After a few moments, the light-green haired girl pulled back her hand and stood up. She turned her back to Marika and walked to the door, leaving the ice alice wielder alone on her bed again.

Placing her hand on the doorknob, she stopped and spoke, "You changed ever since you met her, Marika. And it's not in a good way." She turned her head to the silent girl a bit. "I don't like to see you like this. You'll just hurt yourself in the end."

Marika didn't answer. She rested her chin on her arms, not even looking at the wind alice user. What she heard next was a soft sigh and the sound of door opened and closed. The darkness and deafening silence were engulfing her once again. Her eyebrows wrinkled as she drowned in her own thoughts. Suzuka's words played repeatedly in her head, but she quickly dismissed it and settled her mind.

She wasn't going to back off just like that, not before she got her revenge on the girl for what she had said before. With that decision, she lay on her bed and pulled the thick quilt up to her chest. Closing her eyes, she slowly drifted to oblivion.

-x-

"Did you hear when Narumi told us that will be an Alice Festival in a few months again?"

"Hm…"

"And do you know that we will take a part in the festival?"

"Hm…"

"I wonder what we will do for the festival later. Hey, what do you think?"

Grunt. "Hm…"

"What's 'hm'? I don't understand what it is. Could you explain more about the meaning?"

A vein popped up.

"Yeah? What is that?"

More veins popped up.

"Hm? What is-"

"For goodness' sake! Can't you be quiet for a while?!" Jacklyn hollered in frustration, right hand leaning on the wall while the other hand was holding her waist.

Both of them were at the school corridor right now, walking to their class. A few students who were walking past them turned their heads to the annoyed female and hyper male near the wall, wondering what the shouting was about. When they saw the two just staring at each other for a while, they shrugged and continued their way to their destinations, leaving the two alone.

Jack blinked. "I did. For millisecond," he said, grinning ear to ear.

Jacklyn rolled her eyes at his stupid answer. "Be serious, Jack."

"I am."

An exasperated sigh escaped from her lips and she continued to walk again, wincing at the throbbing pain on her waist every time she moved. The orange-haired boy realized her hurt expression and wondered what was wrong with her. "Are you okay?" he asked.

"…Yeah…" was her tired reply.

Jack eyed her from her quite messy black hair, wrinkled uniform, to her hand that was on her waist. The last part irked his curiosity. "…What's wrong with your waist?"

"…Falling from the bed…" she muttered. Jack raised his eyebrows and then turned his head away from her, staring at the end of the corridor while walking beside her in the same pace with her.

Jacklyn cursed inwardly at the pain on her waist. It was all because of a certain Black Cat. The excuse she uttered to Jack just now was a white lie. The fact was she didn't fall from the bed. She got the pain from her mission last night, where she had to make sure Natsume was fine once again. The difference was she didn't go into the building that night and just watched over the lad from outside, behind trees and bushes.

Unlucky for her, the fire caster decided to jump out from a window on the third floor to the tree where she was hiding under the branch. Apparently the branch couldn't hold the sudden weight on its surface, and decided to separate itself from the trunk, making a loud 'crack' sound and sending the boy down to the ground under him. But instead of the hard ground, he landed on the girl's back, causing her to lay on her stomach while whimpering in agony.

She threw a few curses at him after that, which he completely ignored. And that pissed her off more.

At first, the pain just hurt for a while and started to fade as minutes passed by while they went out from the place and went on their separate ways to the academy. After reporting to Hirai about the successful of the mission (and the pain Natsume caused, which gained a chuckle from the man), she went back to her room and took a good rest. She believed tomorrow would be another nice bright day.

She was wrong.

Morning sun light struck into her room through the window, its bright light waking her up. She moaned at the rude waking up act and shifted her body, a big mistake she had ever done. She groaned, feeling an unbearable pain on her waist. She cursed under her breath as she remembered she forgot to treat her invisible wound the night before to prevent it from worsening. But what could she say? It was her own mistake.

And so, without any choice again, she got up from her comfortable bed and prepared herself for school, wincing and groaning at every single move she made.

"I give you my sympathy," Jack joked.

Jacklyn rolled her eyes once again. "Buzz off, Jack," she remarked in a sarcastic tone. Had she added that the boy who showed up from nowhere when she was walking at the corridor worsened the pain more?

He chuckled at her rude comeback, but didn't make any effort to fasten his pace and leave the girl walking alone at the corridor. She was annoyed at his company, but was also glad at the same time. She was just annoyed because the lad seemed talking too much than what she ever dreamed of. Oh well, it's not a big deal, but it just…ruined her imagination about him a bit.

The bell rang, warning the students that the class would start soon. Jacklyn sighed and looked at her companion. "You go ahead. I won't be able to get there in any second," she said in submission.

Jack raised an eyebrow at her suggestion. "I'm not going to leave you here alone," he stated.

The drawing alice user glared at him from the corner of her eye. "Just go, Jack," she rumbled.

The blue-eyed boy hesitated. "…Are you sure you're going to be fine?"

She nodded. "The first period is Narumi-sensei's class. I'll be fine. Don't worry."

He frowned. "I'm not worried about whose class it is. I'm worried about that," he said as he pointed his index finger to her waist.

Raising an eyebrow, Jacklyn's eyes followed his finger which pointed to the direction of her waist. "Oh…" She looked back at him. "Yeah. It will be fine as time passes by," she said casually. 'Actually, it will get worsened as time passes by,' she added in her thought, rolling her eyes.

Jack was just staring at her, unconvinced with her answer. Feeling being stared at, Jacklyn shifted her gaze to everywhere but him. She realized that the corridor had been empty. Not even one student could be seen wandering around at the place. Now there were just two of them who hadn't gone into the class.

She finally met his blue eyes and said, "I'll catch up with you later. I want to take my time here anyway."

Jack rose on of his eyebrow at her excuse. "…I don't know that you're a lazy type of person," he commented and ran when she lifted her fist to hit him. Before he turned at the corner, he faced her and yelled, "See you at class, turtle!" When he saw her face, he laughed and disappeared at the turn of the corridor.

On her spot, Jacklyn fumed at his laugh which still echoed in her ears. The boy was too cheery for his own good. Someone might get irritated at his little joke and feel like to hit him for that. She was sure of it because that was what she felt now.

Huffing, the wielder of drawing alice swung one of her feet forward and winced when she made a step. She groaned as quiet as she could and made another step forward, wondering if she would arrive at the class in hours. As long as it wasn't Jinno's class, she was fine.

Minutes later, sound of footsteps was heard when she was about to turn at the corner. Engulfed by curiosity, she turned her head behind and saw a certain brunette was running to her direction with eyes closed. Her lips was moving, chanting something about 'being late' repeatedly. Jacklyn opened her mouth and was about to warn her about her presence there when the brunette bumped right onto her and they fell down.

"Ouch! I'm sorry!" Mikan said, trying to get over the dizziness she got because of the hard impact.

"Tch. I've told you many times to watch where you're going to, Polka," came the rude reply from beneath her.

…Wait…Beneath…?

Mikan snapped her eyes open upon hearing the male's voice. She looked down and found her eyes staring at a pair of alluring crimson eyes, which was also wide opened in surprise when the owner realized their position at that time. The brunette was on top of him, mouth hanging open in shock as she stared down at the lad under her.

"…Er…guys…could you get off of me…?"

The voice that came from between them snapped both of them out of their shocks. Their gazes moved to the direction where the voice came from and saw Jacklyn looking at them with a bored stare. The poor girl was now being squeezed between them, just like a meat in the middle of a burger.

"…Mikan…my back…" she mumbled, reminding the brunette of their position at the time in case if she was drowning in her own thoughts again.

The girl in topic blinked and then gasped as she realized what the poor girl meant. "Oh! I'm so sorry, Jacklyn-chan!" she squeaked as she got off of Jacklyn.

"It's…okay…" the drawing alice user managed to breath out and she slowly got off from the bottom layer of the human burger, Natsume. She grimaced when she felt a sharp pain throbbing on her waist in the process. It hurt like hell!

Biting down her lower lip to hold back the pain, she placed her right palm on the wall and stood up. A small whimper escaped from her lips as she tried to walk again. Mikan, who heard the small whimper, watched her from behind in wonder. "Are you okay, Jacklyn-chan?" she asked, worried when her eyes spotted the said girl's frowning face.

Jacklyn turned to her and faked a smile. "Yeah," she replied. "I just…fell down from my bed this morning."

"Stupid sketchbook girl," came the comment from a certain fire caster who started to walk to the class.

Jacklyn sent a glare to his back when she heard his comment. 'It's your fault, cocky boy!!' she complained in her thought while imagining a few ways to get him back for the pain she got. The tap on her shoulder snapped her out of her deep thoughts and she raised an eyebrow when she saw the brunette smiling at her.

"Let me help you," said Mikan.

Not waiting for the black-haired girl's answer, she circled her arm around Jacklyn's left arm and guided her to the class. Never once she released her hold on the girl until they reached the class fifteen minutes later. Narumi just gave them his kind smile when he saw them walking into the class. Jacklyn quickly gave him the excuse of why she and Mikan were late. The wavy-blonde haired teacher nodded in understanding and let them walk to their seats before he continued his lesson.

The drawing alice user sighed in exasperation as her bottom touched the hard surface of her seat. Opening her bag, she quickly took out her notebook and writing utensils, ready to note down the lecture. She opened her notebook and was about to write on it when a paper bird landed on its white surface. Raising one of her eyebrows, she took the bird and saw a few small words written on one of its wings.

_Faster than a turtle. Great job._

Eyebrows twitching, she looked up and her eyes immediately found the sender. Two rows in front of her, Jack was grinning at her, satisfied when he saw her expression after reading his message at that time. Jacklyn stuck her tongue out at him, set down the bird on her desk and focused her eyes on her empty notebook again, right hand starting to jot down the note on the blackboard in front of the class.

Nonetheless, sometimes her eyes would steal a glance at the bird on her desk, and she couldn't help but smile when she saw the creature flapping its wings or covering its flat face with it like a real bird. She then propped her chin on her fist, eyes never leaving the paper bird that was now sleeping peacefully on her desk. Narumi's voice was heard faintly in her ears as she drowned in her thoughts.

Paper alice.

She remembered what her so-called living drawing told her at the night he entered the academy. Being a naughty one, the lad sneaked out from his room and flew to her window to get into her room. Yup, flew. She was surprised at first, bombarding him with questions of how he could be in her room when she walked out from her bathroom. The lad just smiled and answered her questions with patience.

Apparently he had paper alice since he was born to three dimensional world. With that kind of alice, he could make the paper alive and control it if he wanted to. It could last for twelve hours. Well, at least it was better than hers. Not that she didn't like her alice. She liked it and it was quite useful, but it would become troublesome when she didn't want it to last for twenty four hours. The wings she ever made alive was the example. Aside from that matter, she was fine with it.

She snapped out of her trance when she felt something dull stabbing the skin of her arm. She looked down and saw the bird nudging her with its sharp beak. She chuckled softly and moved her left hand to the small creature, patting its tiny head with her index finger. The bird nuzzled its head against the tip of her finger, causing a smile to hover on her lips.

Her dark-brown eyes glanced up, searching for the lad's figure. He was staring at the blackboard with a serious look on his face, chin resting on his palm. As she gazed at him longer, she remembered another thing he had told her that night. He had another alice. The second alice which people barely had. But when she asked him what it was, he just answered her with a smile and then shifted the topic. When she nagged him to answer it, he just said she would need it one day and no more.

She wondered what his second alice was, and why he didn't bother to answer her question.

…And why would she need it one day?

Why not now?

-x-

Lunchtime was one of moments the students had been waiting for. After listening to the teachers' endless lectures and writing down a bunch of notes, it was best to relieve the pressure and tiredness on their brain by taking some sustenance for the poor organ in their heads and chatting with friends. The moment the bell rang, students quickly dashed out from their classes and raced to the cafeteria to get the first place in the queue. Their stomachs had been craving for delicious food to be inside them.

But not for one student.

With legs stretching out on his desk and hands behind his head, he slept on his seat with his manga covering his face, undisturbed. Even the brunette who sat beside him had given up on waking him up. His blonde best friend had also tried to persuade him to go to the cafeteria with them, but he responded by telling the animal pheromone alice wielder to go first and leave him there. Ruka hesitated at first, but the raven-haired lad managed to convince him to go.

When Ruka had gone out of the class and closed the door, he pulled his manga away from his face and opened his eyes. He looked at the door for a while, making sure his friends have gone from the class before he slipped his manga into his bag and stood up from his seat. He walked to the door where Ruka just went out and opened it. When he was out of the class, he walked to the direction that was contrary to the direction of the cafeteria.

No, he didn't go to the wrong direction. His destination was the Dangerous Ability class. Not like the other students, he barely had time to lay down and relax. He had missions to do which always put his life in danger. That was the risk for being academy's living weapon.

Coughing lightly, he took a turn at a corner and walked again. He could see students running past him to the cafeteria, a few of them stealing a glance at him when they passed him by. He didn't say anything, nor looking at them. The fame he got because he was Black Cat and a special star student didn't make him happy or proud. Instead, he loathed it. If he could, he just wanted to be an ordinary student, laughing and doing many things he hadn't been able to do.

He might be able to spend his time with the brunette more…or even ask her to be his girlfriend…

…What the heck was he thinking just now?

He shook his head briskly at the thought and focused his gaze on the corridor in front of him. The journey to the Dangerous Ability class seemed short. Three minutes later, he had been standing in front of the big wooden door. The class was at the end of the corridor, secluded from the other classes. Just like the name, the students were mysterious, dangerous, and isolated from the other students. If he could, he would choose to join Mikan and the others than to be in the place at that lunchtime.

Reluctantly, he stretched out his hand, placed it on the doorknob and turned it open. As soon as the view inside the class came to his sight, he felt the cold and uncomfortable feeling, urging him to close the door and catch up with his friends at the cafeteria. But he knew he wouldn't do that the time he stepped inside the room. He still felt the uncomfortable feeling, but his body denied to turn and walk out from the class.

Inside, there were two people standing near the teacher's desk, discussing about something he couldn't hear from the distance. The taller one was Persona, his white mask never gone from his face. The other male was Bourne, his blood-red eyes staring at the papers in his hands, his lips murmuring something as he read the papers carefully.

As soon as Natsume closed the door, the two males stopped talking and turned their heads to the door's direction to see the new guest that disturbed them in the middle of the conversation. He didn't take any care about it and ambled to them with his hands in his pants pockets. "I'm here now. What mission will I have today?" he asked nonchalantly.

Persona took a paper from the desk and gave it to him. The fire caster took it and read the contents for one minute before he burned it. "Tonight, right? I get it," he mumbled before he turned to his back to walk out of the room and take a rest for that night's mission. He didn't like the pressure he felt in the room and he wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

He had reached the door and was about to open it when Bourne spoke, "I won't go with you tonight. I have to do another mission."

Natsume clicked his tongue. "I don't care. I don't need your help anyway. I could do it by myself."

The spiky-blonde haired lad raised an eyebrow at his remark. "I just want to remind you to be more careful since you were careless yesterday that you have to jump out from the window to avoid those guards."

The fire caster scowled at the piece of embarrassing truth that came out from his lips. "It's just a coincidence. There won't be any trouble again this time," he countered in annoyance before he opened the door, walked out, and slammed the door close harshly.

A few incoherent curses slipped out from his lips as he stomped away from the place. He recalled the mission he did last night. When he and Bourne arrived at the building where they should get things they had been ordered to, they separated. Bourne would get a secret document at the east wing, while he would get a disc at the west wing.

Things were going smoothly at first, until his illness acted up all of a sudden. He clutched his chest and coughed hardly which was, unfortunately, heard by the patrolling guards. It was a hard moment since he had to suppress his pain and fight the guards that kept on coming to catch him. Being not be able to fight back again as the pain consumed him, he finally decided to run from them and ended up jumping out from the third floor. Who knows that the spiky-blonde haired boy caught him in the act?

Natsume stopped abruptly as he placed his right palm over his mouth then coughed loudly in the next second. He leaned his back on the nearest tree trunk he could find and continued coughing until it subsided by itself. A few seconds later, the cough stopped and he was breathing heavily. He pulled his hand away from his lips and saw the view he had been familiar with.

Blood was covering his palm.

He curled his hand into a fist and used it to wipe the remaining blood from the corner of his lips. He closed his eyes as he felt a pain he had recognized in his chest. It was getting worse in each single day.

How much time did he have before his time finally came…?

-x-

"He isn't fine."

Persona looked up upon hearing the statement that came from the boy in front of him. "You mean Natsume?" he asked, his voice slick.

Bourne continued reading the document in his hands. "He's getting weaker and weaker every day," he said, closing his eyes and folding the paper in his hand once.

Persona walked around the table and sat down on the seat. "That's why I asked you to accompany him in doing yesterday's mission," he uttered. "But since you have to do more urgent mission tonight, he has no choice but to do this mission by himself."

The blonde-haired boy opened his eyes again and looked down at the folded paper in his right hand. "He will do it gladly," he commented, recalling how the fire caster treated him as his old rival. "But I think he will force himself beyond his ability." He threw a glance at the masked man from the corner of his eye. "Couldn't it be cancelled?"

Persona shook his head and rested his chin on his knuckle. "I'm afraid not. The Elementary principal wanted it to be done tonight."

"How about using another student?"

"No can do," was his simple reply.

Bourne sighed and gazed at the folded paper again. "I'll see if I can catch up with him later after I finish this job."

The corner of the older man's lips tugged up, forming a teasing smirk. "Even though he's your old enemy?"

He rolled his blood-red eyes. "He's the one who think of me as his old enemy, not me," he retorted as he started to walk to the door.

"But you never denied it," he pointed out.

Bourne shrugged his shoulders. "Why do I even bother?"

Persona chuckled. "You never change."

"I won't," he replied, touching the doorknob and opening the door.

"Going to Imai's place?"

Bourne didn't answer. He walked out from the room and then turned to his Dangerous Ability class teacher, smirking as he said, "Time to catch up with an old friend, Onii-san." Then he closed the door, leaving the smirking masked man inside the room.

-x-

Peeking out from behind a tree, Jacklyn gazed around the green field, making sure a certain orange-haired boy wasn't following her. After she was sure he wasn't there, she walked out from the tree she had been hiding ever since the school was over and stretched her arms while inhaling the fresh air from the afternoon breeze.

She then brought her hand to her waist and patted the hurting part lightly. She winced a bit when the pressure of her hand made contact with the bruise, but the pain was better than before. At lunchtime, she had gone to the clinic and asked the female doctor to treat her bruise. She didn't think she needed to go to hospital and search the wielder of healing alice to heal her just because of the small wound. Oh well, at least she could walk properly now.

She looked around once again and realized that she had been hiding in Northern Woods. She took one step forward, two steps, and stopped when she realized she had been lost in the woods once again. There were just trees and bushes everywhere. She didn't see any small path or sign of Junior High School building behind the green view. She paled and mumbled, "…Where the heck am I?"

Jacklyn gazed around one more time and sighed in submission. Was it so wrong to avoid her living drawing that Fate made her lost in the woods? Oh wait, this was her own fault. She should have just hidden in the janitor closet or bathroom or maybe another empty class instead of the woods.

Today wasn't the best day for her. First, she was lack of sleep. Second, her waist was in pain. Third, the annoying voice of Jack irked her and then she was being squeezed between Mikan and Natsume at an incident this morning. And now, she was lost in the forest. What was her fault that she deserved this kind of bad luck?

Jacklyn hitched her breath when she heard the bushes behind her moving. From the sound, she knew it wasn't because of the wind. Someone was there. Her face lit up at the thought. It meant she would come out from the place soon. She turned around and the big smile on her face disappeared in the next second when she saw who the person was.

"…Houji…" was the first word that slipped out from her parted lips.

Marika stood beside a tree, looking at her with a sharp gaze. Her eyes were a bit red and her wavy-black hair was messy. Jacklyn raised an eyebrow at her untidy appearance, wondering what happened to the girl after they didn't meet for a few weeks. "…What's wrong with your face?"

Marika's glare sharpened. "…It is all your fault," she hissed, hands curling into fists.

Jacklyn blinked. "…What?" And quickly ran behind a tree to avoid two icicles which were being shot at her without warning. "Hey! That's dangerous!!" she shouted, gluing her back on the trunk. She could feel her heart beating fast behind her ribs. The answer that she got was the sound of something stabbing the trunk five times. "Hey! I don't remember I did something terrible to you!"

"You do!" the ice alice user finally shouted back. "What have I told you before? What? I told you not to come near Natsume again!"

She stuck her head out from behind the tree. "It's none of your business! Besides, I didn't approach him! It's just a coincidence he's there when I approached Mikan and the others!" she said, pulling her head back before an icicle managed to stab her forehead. Unfortunately, her waist bumped the hard surface of tree trunk in the process. She winced at the sudden ache that jolted through the wounded part and bit her lower lip to suppress her moaning of pain.

"You think you're stronger than me?? You must be having a not useful alice that you don't want to show it to us!" Marika said as she walked approaching the tree where Jacklyn was hiding, her shoes snapping a few twigs on her way.

"Are you that obsessed with my alice? You could just ask me nicely if you want to know what it is!" Jacklyn retorted, hand rummaging inside her bag, searching for her small sketchbook.

Her opponent had been mad without any reason and she had to do something before anything happened to both of them. Her lips formed a triumphant smile when she finally found the things she had been searching for. She quickly took it out and ran from the tree, knowing Marika was approaching the spot now. She ducked to avoid three icicles that were being shot to her head. "She has gotten insane," she muttered under her breath then threw her body forward and rolled behind a tree as she felt the pain on her waist acting up again.

"Why don't you just give up? You're weak! You shouldn't sacrifice yourself just for the worthless friendship!!" Marika shouted in irritation.

Jacklyn hung her backpack on her back and opened her small sketchbook, grinding her teeth in the process to hold back the worsening ache. She found her rope-gun weapon on the fifth page and placed her palm on it. In the next second, she felt the gun in her hand. "Time to end this meaningless battle." She went out from her hiding place and immediately shot her opponent with the gun. Marika was caught off by Jacklyn's sudden attack and slumped down on the ground. The rope tied her up, locking her arms by her sides.

The ice alice user looked at the rope that tied her in shock then lifted her head to glare at her opponent. "What are you-"

"What if I'm weak?" Jacklyn said as she lowered her gun and stood up.

"Wha-"

"What if I don't want to give up?" she cut the ice alice user's word off. "What if I don't think the friendship I have now is worthless? What if I'm ready to sacrifice myself for that?"

Marika's gaze turned from rage into confusion. "Why would you do that? What will you get from it?"

Jacklyn's lips curled up into a smile. "The satisfaction for my mind."

Marika blinked and let out a sarcastic chuckle. "You're stupid, you know that?"

The drawing alice user's smile twitched, not because of Marika's mocking comment but because of the throbbing pain on her waist. She stepped back until her back touched the tree. "…I don't care. Why should I…?" she remarked as she started to pant.

"…Do you ever feel weak? Do you ever feel hopeless?"

Jacklyn shifted her attention to the girl in front of her. Her breath started to get ragged as the pain spread wider on her waist. How could a small wound affect her entire body like this? She felt weak all of a sudden.

"Do you think they will pay attention to you? Do you think they will appreciate your hard work and sacrifice?"

Something struck her heart as she heard her questions. Would they look at her for once? Would they appreciate what she had done? The image of her sister, Izu, and her parents suddenly crossed in her mind. The feelings that she started to forget were showing up again. Jealous, sadness, irritation and desperation were engulfing her heart once again. Why she had to be reminded of them at time like this? It just added another pain to her.

"Do you think-"

"Shut up!" Jacklyn hollered as she torn the last page of the small sketchbook and thrust it onto her chest. A pair of white wings appeared on her back, surprising the girl in front of her. Jacklyn hung her head low as she flapped the wings and flew high to the sky, getting out from the prison of trees and bushes in an instant, leaving the ice alice user behind.

She flew to the direction of the dormitory, clutching her aching waist with her left hand. Sun had set down in the west and bathed her with its red light. Jacklyn didn't pay much attention to the scenery, neither did she care if there was someone seeing her at that time. She just had one destination in her mind.

Her room.

She unconsciously fastened her speed and she finally arrived at the window to her room in one minute. She opened her unlocked window and flew in, not bothering to close it again. She stopped flapping the wings and let herself fall down to the floor on her knees, hand stretching out to prevent her face meeting the hard surface. Her lips parted as she tried to catch her breath. With the ache she felt on her waist and in her chest, the pain was unbearable.

She lowered her head until her forehead touched the cold floor and slowly curled herself up into a ball. The wings acted as her quilt. Short breaths came out of her mouth and her eyes were staring at nowhere. Her gaze was empty. A small tear managed to slip out from the corner of her eye and landed on the floor, but she didn't feel anything at that time except the pain.

Her eyelids dropped down, hiding her empty dark-brown eyes behind them. As she inhaled and exhaled in rhythm, she welcomed the pain and sank herself in it. By doing that, she wished all the pain would be gone when she woke up.

And she would be her normal self once again.

--To be continued--


	26. 26th Piece: Of Doubt and Duty

**illutia mist: I'm tired of moaning and crying now. (Pouts)**

**Jacklyn: Then don't moan and cry.**

**illutia mist: But you won't let me go…**

**Jacklyn: Never. (An evil glint in her eyes)**

**illutia mist: …**

**Hotaru: When does the torturing session start?**

**Natsume: Now. (Smirks)**

**illutia mist: (Pales) …**

**Mikan: illutia doesn't own Gakuen Alice and its characters and Bourne Severity belongs to Ryuamakusa4eva. (Looks at Hotaru who brings a few torturing tools and sweat drops)**

**illutia mist: No!!! (Cries)**

**Jacklyn: …I thought you said you're tired of moaning and crying now…**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**26th Piece: Of Doubt and Duty**

Hotaru sat on her comfy seat in her dorm room, facing a charcoal-colored steel desk in front of her. Her eyes were staring blankly at the unfinished invention that lay helplessly on the desk and waited for her to do something with its imperfect parts. But at the poor thing silent request, she did nothing, except keep on staring at it without even winking.

She didn't know what was running in her head at that time until she was drowning deep in it. It might be not important or related to 'money' term since she didn't remember what it was.

Two knocks saved her from the unproductive thinking she had just now. She finally blinked and turned her head to the door where the sound came from. One of her hands reached for a protection mask on her desk as she stared at the door with a bored look. If it was Mikan, she had been ready to pretend getting busy so the brunette wouldn't disturb her.

"Come in," she said while putting on the mask.

At her invitation, the doorknob was turned and the door opened. But instead of the brunette, it was Bourne who stuck his head out from behind the door. A small smile played on his lips as he greeted her, "Hey, Hotaru."

Raising her eyebrows at the unexpected guest, the raven-haired girl motioned him to close the door, which he did in the next second, and then she took off her mask to give him a full view of her face. "So, what's wrong?" she asked, placing her mask back on the desk.

Bourne ambled to the couch and sat down, staring at her with a friendly smile on his face. "I just want to chat with you. Can't I?"

Hotaru gave him a look before glancing at her invention and said, "No, you can't."

His smile dropped. "That's not what I want to hear."

She stood up and walked approaching him then sat down on the couch which was across from him. Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she started the conversation. "So, why did you come back to Japan?"

The corner of his lips tipped up when she offered a topic to be talked about. At least the girl wasn't serious to tell him to go away. "You have heard it. I get a long nice holiday from Alice Academy in America," he replied, resting one arm on the armrest.

"Nice excuse, but I believe there's something else behind that."

He chuckled. "Well, I can't answer that then."

She raised an eyebrow. "So there's really another reason behind that?"

He shrugged, which made her narrow her eyes at him. "…Bourne Severity…" she growled.

The mentioned boy just smiled and pointed his index finger to the kitchen. "How about tea?"

She squinted more until her eyes turned to slits.

Bourne didn't waver under her glare. "Why don't you serve me some tea? Maybe I will change my mind and tell you about it," he offered, crossing one leg over his other leg.

"I'm not serving anyone," she pointed out. "You already knew that."

The blonde-spiky haired boy just smiled at her comeback and then stood, leading his feet to the kitchen. Hotaru didn't get bothered with what he did. Instead, she leaned her aching back onto the couch and let out a soft sigh. She didn't realize she had been sitting on the desk watching her incomplete invention since the school had been over until now. What the heck she had been thinking of since then?

She leaned her elbow on the armchair, propped her chin on it, and tapped one finger onto her cheek, thinking. First, she tried to recollect her memories about what she had been doing for these few days. She got homework, a few ideas to be added into her invention' list, Mikan's babbling…

The nice smell of tea urged her to open her eyelids. When she did, she spotted a cup of hot Chamomile tea on the coffee table in front of her, waiting for her to taste it. She looked up and saw Bourne already sipping his own tea. "So," she broke the silence, "are you going to tell me the reason why you came to Japan now?"

Her guest pulled his lips away from his tea and looked at her. "Why don't you drink it first?" he asked, nodding his head to the waiting tea on the coffee table. "You seem a bit stressed, so I think a cup of tea will be good for you."

A small smile drew across her lips. "Well, that's so kind of you," she commented, taking the cup from the coffee table and bringing it closer to her face. She inhaled its hot, nice smell and immediately felt relaxed a bit. Indeed, tea was a best choice to relieve a tired mind. Bringing the mouth of the cup to her lips, she sipped the content and smiled when the sweetness of tea made contact with her lips.

"Like it?"

Hotaru rolled her eyes up to see Bourne's satisfaction smile for a while before she closed her eyes and sipped her tea again. "Hm…"

The smile on his face widened upon hearing her simple response. He then gulped his own tea again until Hotaru asked, "Are you going to tell me why you're here now?" He looked up, seeing her lifting her cup. "I have drunk the tea."

Bourne chuckled. "Okay, okay."

"Spill it out."

Bending his body a bit to the side, he propped his chin on his hand and said, "What I can tell you is it has something to do with AAO."

Hotaru's eyes lit up. "It has something to do with the Anti-Alice Organization?"

He nodded in reply.

"What about them?"

He smiled. "Can't tell you that."

She scowled. "Severity…"

"Bourne is enough, Hotaru."

Hotaru glared at him for a while and then gulped down the rest of her tea. She placed the empty cup on the table and then sighed, trying to subside the annoyed feeling inside her. When the feeling had gone away, she opened her eyes and gazed at Bourne. "You have mission tonight?"

Bourne nodded. "Principal wants me to get something from a building which he thought was one of AAO's branches." He paused for a while, staring at the table in front of him. "…Did Hyuuga get missions lately?" He shifted his gaze up, blood-red eyes met violet one.

Hotaru's head inclined slightly as her answer. "I heard from Nogi that Hyuuga had gotten a few missions this month." She narrowed her eyes. "I have a hunch that this has something to do with AAO and you know about it."

A smile made its way onto his face. "Maybe," he replied, placing down his cup on the table, and then stood up. "By the way, I have to go now. Thanks for your time, Hotaru." He smiled at her before he headed towards the door.

He opened the door and was about to step out when he heard the lass say, "You better tell me what that is, or I'll get Nonoko to make a truth potion and give it to you."

He chuckled, waved his hand to her and then walked out from the room.

Hotaru had her eyes on the door for a while, listening to the sound of footsteps that walked away from her room. She heaved a sigh, took both empty cups from the coffee table and then ambled to the kitchen. She left the cup on the sink and walked back to her room, intending to start working on her invention.

When she had arrived beside her desk, she didn't sit down or do anything, just standing up and looking down at the unfinished invention. Bourne's sentences made her think about what the boy had hidden from her. He had confirmed his arrival had something to do with Natsume and AAO, at least that was what she thought. She also realized that the fire caster looked pale and tired lately. Knowing that he had the fourth type alice, she understood why.

She blinked. Talking about tired, she also spotted someone who always got tired these days. She never got bothered about it all this time, but it aroused her curiosity as well. She always spotted Jacklyn yawing or stealing time to sleep in the class the next day after Natsume did his mission. She had never seen the black haired girl so tired like that before. It seemed like Jacklyn had started to get strange after the incident where she decided to cut her friendship thread with Mikan.

Now, wasn't that a bit strange?

-x-

Mikan walked out from school while heaving an exhausted sigh. She just finished her turn to clean the class today with her other classmates. She also was upset that she couldn't find her inventor best friend when she was about to walk out from the class. It was a bit strange for her to have no one walking back to the dormitory with. She had used to have companions along the way, whether it was Hotaru, Jacklyn or her other friends.

She blinked and stopped for a while on her track, an image of a certain black-haired girl crossing in her head. If she wasn't wrong, the girl had an unfortunate incident this morning and got an ache on her waist as the result. She even had to help the drawing alice girl to get to the class since she wasn't sure the girl would arrive there in any minutes.

But then, why didn't she saw a glimpse of hers since the class had been over? If her memory didn't deceive her, the black-haired girl's waist was still in pain even though she told her she had gotten treatment in the clinic at lunchtime. Jacklyn didn't tell her it still hurt, but she knew from the way the drawing alice user acted when they walked back to class after having lunch.

Putting a finger on her cheek, Mikan tried to remember if she had missed something about Jacklyn before the class was over. Yet, she had no clue what made the black-haired girl disappear all of a sudden after the bell rang.

"Sakura-san?"

Mikan snapped out of her thought upon hearing someone call her last name. Turning her head a bit to her left, she saw Jack walking to her direction with a kind smile on his face. "Mikan is enough, Jack-kun," she smiled. "Can I help you?"

He chuckled. "Just call me Jack, Mikan. And yes, I want to ask if you happen to see Jacklyn after the class was over."

The brunette shook her head. "I didn't see her either. I thought you're with her."

Jack sighed and scratched his head, ruffling his messy hair. "No, she's not. I think she avoided me all day after this morning."

Mikan blinked and tilted her head a bit to the side, wondering what had happened that morning that made Jacklyn avoid Jack for all day. She remembered she didn't see Jack when she met Jacklyn and helped her to the class that morning, so she assumed that the drawing alice girl had met Jack before she bumped into her.

"Are you two fighting?" she asked innocently.

"I can't say we're fighting, but…" Jack gave her a small shrug and continued, "Well, I think I annoyed her?"

She blinked again. "What did you do?"

"Calling her turtle and pestering her all day asking about her waist-ache."

"…No wonder she's annoyed at you."

"Yeah." He sighed. "I could even feel something burnt when she was glaring at me in the class." He pointed to his back. "I think she had made a hole here."

A soft chuckle came from Mikan upon hearing his small joke. "You should have checked your back to hospital to make sure it's free of hole," she playfully suggested.

"Yeah, and surprise the entire hospital when they see there's really a hole on my back."

Both of them burst into laughter after that. There were one or two students staring at them upon hearing the sudden laugh but then ignored them and continued to walk to the dormitory. Mikan and Jack were laughing for a few minutes before their laughs finally subsided.

"By the way, are you going back to dormitory now?" the orange-haired male asked, giving the brunette one of his cheerful smile.

Mikan smiled back at him with the same brightness. "Yes. Why don't we go together? You're on the way to dormitory too, right?"

Jack nodded. "Let's go then."

Both of them then walked together to their destination. They tried to keep their pace the same with their companion, not too fast but not too slow. They talked about various topics from school to the teachers in Alice Academy and sometimes exchanged jokes as an entertainment. Those who were looking at them now would think the two were dating, even though in fact they're not.

With endless topics accompanying them along the way, both didn't realize that they almost arrived at their destination. Right at that time, sun had set down in the west and its last trace that could be seen was a straight red line in the horizon. The sky itself had started to turn to a darker shade of blue.

They set their feet on the cement floor before the front door. Mikan's hand reached out for the doorknob as she laughed when Jack told her a joke. The atmosphere between them was pleasurable at that time.

"Jacklyn must be happy to have a funny childhood friend like you," the brunette said as she turned the doorknob, a soft chuckle escaping from her lips. "You're so full of cheerfulness and you're good at joking too."

"Thank you, Mikan. But I think she's not too happy to have an over-cheery person around her," Jack remarked. "Besides, I'm not her childhood friend."

"Eh?" Mikan's hand stopped pushing the front door open. "So…you're her neighbor?"

The orange-haired boy shook his head once again. "Nope. Hasn't she told you?" he asked, blue eyes staring at her hazel one.

Her smile faltered at his answer and question. She then remembered the time in the cafeteria when the black-haired girl was about to tell her who Jack was. She was excited at that time since she was sure she ever saw the orange-haired boy somewhere. She thought she might ever see him from a photo in Jacklyn's wallet or in the girl's room. But before the girl could say more than five words, Nonoko and Anna came approaching them and the topic was forgotten. And then she remembered another thing again.

The black-haired girl indeed said he wasn't her childhood friend. Wait, she said 'not really'.

"So…who are you to her?" Mikan asked with hesitation.

Jacklyn raised his eyebrows, a smile on his lips. "I don't know. As far as I know, she thought of me as her secret best friend. That's it."

"Then, who is she to you?"

His smile widened at her query. "My lovely creator."

Something inside her brain stopped working after she heard his reply. "…I'm sorry. She's your what?" she repeated her question. This time, she made sure her ears didn't hear his answer wrong.

She heard Jack chuckle and say, "My creator."

No. Her ears didn't deceive her.

"I'm her living creation."

-x-

…Knock! Knock!

Jacklyn opened her eyes upon hearing the knocking sound on the door to her room. Her dark-brown orbs moved to the left, finding the dark ceiling staring back at her. She blinked and then closed her eyes again, inwardly wondering how long she had been asleep. It was a nice sleep until the sound of knocking drummed in her ears.

Knock! Knock!

"Jacklyn-chan, are you there?"

Her eyes snapped open at the muffled voice which came from the outside of her room. She placed her right palm on the floor and pushed her body up, wincing at the sudden pain on her waist in the process. 'Damn it! The pain hasn't gone…'

Grinding her teeth to restrain the urge to groan, she forced her body to stand up on her feet. Her body felt so heavy, as if she carried a sack of stones on her back. For the first time in her life, Jacklyn felt so miserable. Never had she felt so many burdens, in physical and emotion. She just wanted to lay on her comfy bed and go to deep oblivion to ease the feeling. It was more tempting than going to open the door now.

Knock! Knock!

Sighing, Jacklyn dragged her lazy feet over to the door. The brunette wouldn't leave her alone before she showed her face up. She felt bad for making Mikan worry by going back to the dormitory first, but she had to secure herself from a certain orange-haired boy that kept annoying her all day. His voice just made her pain worsen.

The sound of knocking was heard louder than before. She guessed the brunette became more worried since she didn't make any sound nor did she reply her knock. Landing her fingers on the silver doorknob, Jacklyn turned it open and peeked out a bit from the small space to see worry etched all over Mikan's face.

"…Hey," was the first impassionate word that came out from her lips.

The brunette blinked twice and then sighed in relief, a smile gracing her face later. "I thought you're not in your room," she said as she pulled her hand back to her side. Her smile wavered a bit as she eyed the black-haired girl closer. Though she could just see a half of the girl's face, her eyes didn't miss the tired look Jacklyn had now. The drawing alice user looked more exhausted than this morning and she wondered what had happened to her. "…Are you okay?" she queried.

Jacklyn raised her eyebrows at her question and blinked. After a few seconds in silence, she nodded. "I think so. Why?"

"I thought you're sick. Your face is pale and you sounded tired."

Jacklyn tried to smile at the brunette. "Yeah, the classes were killing me."

The corner of Mikan's lips tugged up. "Same here," she chuckled. She then intertwined her hands in front of her and sighed. "Guess I worried too much. I thought you're kidnapped by the fan girls or something."

"They need more than their alices to kidnap me," Jacklyn pointed out.

Both of them chuckled. "You're right," Mikan agreed as she looked at the black-haired girl again. "So, do you need something? Want me to bring your dinner to your room?"

Jacklyn shook her head. "No, it's fine. I…have eaten dinner," she lied. She didn't miss the brief disappointed look on the brunette's face when she declined her offer. She felt bad, but she couldn't let the brunette in for now because she still had a pair of white wings on her back.

"I see…" Mikan then plastered a big smile on her face, trying not to sound upset. "Okay then! I'll see you tomorrow!"

Jacklyn nodded, earning a brighter smile from the brunette. Mikan then turned away and skipped to her room, humming happily all the way. Jacklyn stuck her head out a bit and watched the brunette's back moving far away from her room. After she saw Mikan disappearing around the corner of the corridor, she pulled her head back, closed her door and locked it. She wanted to sleep after this and she wouldn't tolerate any disturbance.

She sighed and turned to her back, gasping when she earned a sharp pain from her waist once again because of her careless action. A low grumble was emitted from her throat as she walked away from the door. The journey to her bed seemed like forever to her, where as, in fact, it's just more than a meter from the door. She wanted to throw herself immediately and landed on the bed in a short time, but she would get more pain if she did so.

She stopped in the middle of the room and cast a glance at the wide wings behind her, her head calculating the time when the wings would be gone and it made her frown when she knew the result. She was so not missing another day of school again just because of the wings. But then, what could she do? Walking to the school and parading the wings on her back like an angel? She was no freaking angel!

Stomping to her bed, she fumed in annoyance at the thought, her fists clenching tightly on her sides as a substitute for not shouting out loud at the throbbing pain she felt all the time.

She was no angel. That was what in her mind all the time. Angel was perfect, had no flaw in them, they were saint and eternal.

She was not. She had many flaws, she had many secret and lies, and she could also get hurt. She wouldn't be able to do anything right and it was proved by the dissatisfaction her parents had towards her; the proof that she was imperfect.

'…_Do you ever feel weak? Do you ever feel hopeless?'_

Yes. She ever felt that. Many times in her life.

'_Do you think they will pay attention to you? Do you think they will appreciate your hard work and sacrifice?'_

She threw her body to the bed when she was just five centimeters from it, grabbed a pillow and buried her face onto the comfortable material. She took a breath and then screamed into the pillow, resulting in the muffled shout of stress. She never did this before, not because she had some distractions to let the problem pass and be hidden somewhere deep inside her mind. But now, being imprisoned in the academy without any distraction to avert her mind from the pressure she felt, she had no choice but to relieve her stress like this.

She cursed between the shouts; cursing the pain she got, cursing her encounter with Marika before, cursing the day she agreed to go to missions, and cursing the path she chose that led her to this disaster day.

What the hell did she do wrong that she must experience all of this? She just wanted to have a peaceful live among those who accepted her the way she was. She didn't expect any thrilling adventure in her life that would ruin herself.

She screamed for another ten seconds until she finally was satisfied. Rolling to her back while hugging the pillow on her chest, she stared at the dark ceiling and sighed. Various thoughts invaded her head as she closed her eyes. She tried to sort out her mind once again.

What did she search for all this time? The place where she could be herself without being afraid of people's opinions.

Why did she do mission? To strengthen herself and to make sure a certain cocky boy safe even though she didn't like him.

Whose decision it was? Hers.

Then why should she regret and curse Fate for bringing her to the wretched situation?

She had no answer.

"What did you scream for, Little Angel?"

Jacklyn sighed and sat up upon hearing a familiar male's voice. She moved her eyes to the window and found Hirai leaning on the windowsill with a smile on his face. "How long have you been there?" she grunted, still feeling annoyed because of the pain.

He shrugged and continued smiling. "Since a few minutes ago? I entered when you shouted your head off into the pillow."

Jacklyn leaned her palm onto her bed. "Natsume is in mission again?" she asked without surprise. A nod from the man answered her question and another sigh escaped from her lips.

She was about to stand up when something was thrown onto her lap. A strip of medicine which consisted of four tablets was waiting for her to acknowledge what it was. Jacklyn took the strip and swayed it in front of her face. "What's this?"

"Pain killer," Hirai replied simply. "I know something's weird in your movement since you came back from your mission yesterday. You didn't bleed and your alice isn't the fourth type, so I assumed you got hit somewhere."

Jacklyn squinted at the tablets as she recalled how she got the bruise on her waist. "…Yeah…you're right…"

Knowing the black-haired girl was in bad mood, Hirai detached himself from the wall and ambled towards her. He lifted his hand and patted her head, drawing her attention back to him. A questioning look was showed clearly on her face as she continued to stare at the man. Sometimes Jacklyn didn't understand why the man treated her like she was still a little kid, but since she felt comfortable with it, she never bothered to slap his hand away.

"Are you regretting your decision to go to mission?" he asked, catching the girl by surprise.

Jacklyn shifted her gaze down. "I…don't know…" she answered in humble confusion. "I just…I think that's all the reason why I got pain and have to go through this bad day. If I'm just a normal student…"

He ruffled her hair a bit. "Why did you accept the deal then?"

She was silent for a while, contemplating of the same question she had answered minutes ago. "…I want to strengthen myself…and I have to make sure Natsume is safe in every mission he has as the compensation…"

Hirai nodded. "You're the one who picked your choice."

"…I know…" she mumbled, right hand clutching the hem of her skirt.

It might be human's nature to regret the decision they did sometimes, especially when they had an unfortunate incident because of the decision they took. She should have known the risk since she picked her choice to enter the Academy and do mission. But the pain and bad luck she had today had blinded her big purpose in doing those choice she had taken.

"…Can I have a day off?" an unsure question came out from her mouth, her hand playing with the end of her skirt.

Hirai smiled and shook his head. "I would love to give you a chance to ditch the mission, but I'm afraid I couldn't."

She groaned. "Why?"

The man pulled his hand back from Jacklyn's head and walked to the window again. "It looks like he's not in a good condition today. Anything can happen to him while you lay your head on the tempting pillow and go to Dreamland."

Jacklyn blinked at the first sentence Hirai uttered. "…He's sick?"

He closed his eyes, enjoying the moon light that bathed him. "Not a fever…but yes, he's sick."

"…His alice…?"

A nod from him was enough to answer her question.

Jacklyn looked down to her hands on her lap, wondering how she didn't realize the sickness Natsume had all day. She was too busy thinking about herself that she didn't pay attention too much to her surrounding, especially the lad. She did catch his gaze one or two times in the middle of the class, but she spent the rest of the day to glare at a certain orange-haired boy who kept on pestering her.

Fiddling with the strip of tablets in her hands, Jacklyn took out one tablet and put it into her mouth. She then swallowed it and threw the strip of medicine onto the bedside table. Letting out an audible breath, she closed her eyes and muttered, "I have no choice, do I?"

Hirai shrugged his shoulders. "You can stay if you want. But his life is in your hands."

She opened her eyes and looked up at the man, locking her gaze to his handsome masked profile.

"Fine then."

-x-

Natsume cursed under his breath as he sent another guard to unconsciousness with his punch. He glanced at the end of the corridor and heard a sound of footsteps running to the place where he just knocked out three guards in seven minutes. Clicking his tongue, he turned away and ran to the opposite direction.

It wasn't helping that the moon shone brightly that night. He couldn't hide in the darkness of shadow like usual and it made the mission harder for him. The building he sneaked into tonight was a large ten floored building. His mission was to get a data from the computer in the president director's room. Persona gave him an empty CD before he departed, which meant he had to copy a certain data to the CD.

Of course he succeeded in doing his mission. This mission wasn't as hard as he thought, though he wasn't at his best condition. The problem was he did a mistake when he was about to get out from the room. His sickness acted up all of a sudden when he had finished copying the data and caused him to land his hand accidentally on the alarm button which was in the form of quill holder. That was enough to tell the whole guards in the building he was sneaking in and waiting to be caught.

"Where did he go?!"

"I think he went that way!"

"Hey! How about this three?"

"We'll take care of them later. Our priority is to catch the intruder!"

His chest ached again, causing him to halt on his run and lean on the wall. Short breaths of pain came out from his parted lips as he closed his eyes. His head was spinning, stars showing up behind his eyelids. Natsume realized, he almost reached his limit.

Shaking his head to keep the remaining consciousness in him, he ran a bit more and found a door on his left. He placed his hand on the doorknob and turned it. It was locked. Convinced that it was a safe place to hide, at least until the pain on his chest was gone, he used his fire alice to melt the doorknob and stumbled into the dark room. He then closed the door behind him and leaned on it, sliding down onto the floor while panting heavily.

His right hand trailed up to the front of his chest and clutched a fistful of his shirt. Placing his lips against his arm, he muffled a low groan, letting out all the pain he had suppressed onto his skin. His body was like being burnt in fire, especially his chest, and sweats had drenched his shirt. Natsume didn't know how long he could keep his brain working.

He needed to get out of there. Fast.

Leaning his hands on the door, he forced himself to get up and stand straight. He opened his eyes a bit and examined the room where he was hiding, searching for a way out from the place.

The room wasn't too big, more like a head of division's room. There were two tall bookcases on the right side, filled with books and a few photo frames on second and third rows. In front of the bookcases, there were a wooden desk with a set of computer and a pile of folders on it. On the other side of the desk, there was a window hidden behind a dark-blue colored curtain.

Moving away from the door, he hobbled towards the window and slid the curtain away from it roughly. He clicked the lock at the windowsill and pushed the window open. A gush of cold wind rushed in and caught up with him, blowing a few strands of his damp raven hair from his face.

He lifted his arm to his eyes, shielding it from the sudden gush of wind, and then stuck his head out to find out how height he was from the ground. His eyes turned into dangerous slits when he knew he wasn't any near like what he had expected. The dark ground was far beneath him and there was no other way to get there aside from jumping. But it was impossible to arrive down there without breaking any bone, since he predicted he was on the seven or eight floor, judging from the sea of trees that spread wide on the ground.

A fist was being sent to the windowsill as a loud curse came out from his lips. He was cornered. With his getting worse sickness and on the brink consciousness, he wouldn't be able to last longer. He could fight, but couldn't stand more than two or three persons. He would just be their delicious prey the moment he lost all of his energy.

'If you ever get captured by the enemy and there is no way out, your only choice is to commit suicide.' Persona's voice rang in his head. It was the promise his teacher made him agree years ago, since the day he was being worked as academy's living weapon. 'If you give this power to the enemy, placing the school in jeopardy, you know what will happen to those most important to you, right?'

Closing his eyes, Natsume drew a soft breath. '…Is this the time…?'

A loud sound of gun being shot was heard all of a sudden, along with a slight piercing pain on his shoulder. Natsume turned to the unexpected guest and found two soldiers standing at the door with their guns pointing at him. Behind his mask, he clenched his jaw, carving the final decision into his mind.

He closed his eyes and focused on his alice. Fire suddenly engulfed the two poor guards and their pleading screams were heard throughout the building.

While they were busy shouting and trying to put out the fire on their clothes, the fire caster was clutching his chest and coughing with violence. Slowly but sure, a trail of blood was making its way down from the end of his mask to his throat. Natsume brought two fingers to his neck, brushed it on the red line made by the blood, and brought it in front of his mask. He didn't say anything upon seeing the fact that he was bleeding, not only from his mouth, but also from his shoulder.

Many sounds of footsteps were heard along with the weakened shout from the half-burnt guards. Natsume sat on the windowsill and looked down, his breathing getting ragged. Whether jumping down or burning the rest of the guards, the result would be the same.

He would be dead.

He semi-laughed. Never had it crossed his mind that he would choose jumping down from the high building as his suicide method. He knew he would die one day, but he never knew it would be because of suicide. He set his eyes on the sea of trees beneath him once again. If he was lucky, the trees would hold his weight and he could escape after that, but who he was kidding with? It was impossible to stay alive after falling from this height.

Another sound of gunshot was heard and the same pain pierced the skin of his right upper arm. Natsume gritted his teeth and used his alice on one of the guards, gaining a loud painful shout from his victim. Coughing, he could hear other guards ask for help and such, before he surrendered himself to the darkness of unconsciousness and let his body fall down from the window. This time, he was done for.

"Natsume!!"

-x-

She was sitting under a tree, her dark-brown eyes staring up to the high building in front of her in alert. Sometimes, she stole a glance to her back, eyeing a pair of white wings that spread widely behind her. She wanted to sneak into the building so she could help a certain fire caster from near, but the standing out wings would just blow up her cover and send her into another trouble. Not wanting to create a huge commotion, she cancelled her plan to sneak in.

Jacklyn exhaled a bored sigh, shifting her attention from the entrance door to the windows on each floor. She had been waiting for around two hours on the tree, yet she still didn't see the person she should protect coming out from that place. She wondered if the lad would use the same way to get out from the building like yesterday's night, jumping out from window all of a sudden and landing on her.

Eyebrows furrowed, she grimaced at the thought, annoyed to be reminded of how her day went bad once again. She shook her head, chasing the thought away from her head, and gasped when she heard a loud gunshot coming from above her. Worry and curiosity disturbed her mind as she snapped her head up to the building, searching for the source of the sound.

Jacklyn knew the sound could come from everywhere in the building, but, somehow, the words 'from above' suddenly crossed in her mind the moment she heard the sound. She swallowed and flapped her wings, knowing something was wrong had happened. She carefully emerged from the sea of trees that covered her, hands resting in front of her chest as she felt her heart beating faster than before. 'What is this feeling?' she thought while flying higher, eyes moving from one window to another window at the building.

The worse image had been playing in her mind when she heard the gunshot. Blood and a lifeless raven-haired lad that decorated the cold floor couldn't be erased from her mind. Her face paled. If it really what had happened, how would she take the responsibility? And no matter how much she hated him, she didn't want him to die yet. Not like this.

Another sound of gun was heard and, this time, she was sure it was coming from above. She looked up and her eyes widened at the sight.

"Natsume!!" his name came out from her lips when she saw the lad's figure falling down from an opened window.

Flapping her wings faster, Jacklyn flew with all her might to the falling figure. She opened both of her arms and caught the lad when he was just four meters from the sea of trees. Jacklyn had to flip her wings harder because of a new weight she must carry. In her mind, she thanked Hirai for giving her the pain killer or the pain on her waist would be doubled because of the movement she did.

Worried, Jacklyn quickly made her way back to the academy with the darkness of the night as her quilt. She hoped no one saw her at that time or it would create a big fuss in the town. Many things she had to worry about at that time, but her full attention was on the unconscious lad in her arms. She didn't know how worse his wounds and didn't want to waste time to find out that she couldn't do anything about it.

"Don't die on me, cocky boy. I will be damned if you die," she whispered, hoping the lad heard it, woke up and started another argument with her.

But no, the fire caster remained still, eyes closed and no word coming out from his mouth.

Jacklyn quickened her pace, holding the lad tighter so he wouldn't fall while trying to focus on her way. The journey to the academy seemed a bit longer than the moment she came to the building and it made her more panicked. She wished she had teleportation alice that could bring them back to the academy safely in no time. It was far more useful in this urgent situation than her drawing alice, moreover if this was about someone's life.

Just when she thought about how not useful her alice was, the academy's buildings came into her view. A relieved smile made its way onto her lips as her eyes spotted the hospital and she flew faster to the building. She lowered down to the ground, preparing to land.

But Fate could be cruel sometimes.

When she was just a few meters again from the hospital, the effect of the pain killer tablet was gone and she could feel a throbbing pain on her waist acting up again. She winced at the pain and landed not too gently on the ground, bringing the masked lad to fall along with her.

She held her waist and groaned in a low voice. The pain was double than she felt before, as if something sharp was being thrust into her waist. 'Not now,' she whined. 'Not when Natsume is injured…'

Biting down her lower lip, she crawled to the fire caster, looped one of his arms around her neck and dragged him up with her. Her breathing turned heavy as she led the unconscious lad to the hospital's entrance door, sweats starting to form on her temple and forehead and the pain getting worse. She tried to ignore it and kept her gaze to the entrance of the hospital.

The moment she stepped inside the building and the antiseptic smell hit her nose, her legs gave up and she closed her eyes in exhaustion.

--To be continued--


	27. 27th Piece: Between Him and the Secret

**illutia mist: …Guys, how about if we stop this?**

**Mikan: This what? (Tilts head)**

**illutia mist: …This. (Nods to the rope that ties her to the tree)**

**Jacklyn: No. (Lifts up a board)**

**illutia mist: (Eyes bulge out) WAIT! Wait! We can discuss about this! Just…don't use that board…**

**Natsume: (Searches for a torturing tool between the piles of torturing tools) Board? Nice. Is there another board in this mountain of tools?**

**Hotaru: That will be twenty rabbits to make the same tool.**

**illutia mist: …All of you are so cruel! (Cries waterfall)**

**Hotaru: Making a flood in this place will be a thousand rabbits.**

**illutia mist: …**

**Mikan: Okay… (Sweat drops) Anyway, illutia doesn't own Gakuen Alice. And Bourne Severity belongs to Ryuamakusa4eva.**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**27th Piece: Between Him and the Secret**

Do you believe that a coincidence can happen numerous times?

Well, Hotaru Imai didn't.

If something that should be called coincidence was always happening, then there must be something behind it. It wouldn't be called coincidence if it always happened.

And right now, she saw a scary coincidence in their class.

The class was silent like usual, since Narumi was the teacher for the first period. Most students were jotting the entire note on the blackboard to their notebooks. There were a few of them that had a bored look on their faces, but they couldn't make some commotions in the class like what they had done when Fukutan was their teacher. Unlike Fukutan, Narumi didn't hesitate to use his alice on them if they tried to make any commotion and ruin the teaching atmosphere.

Hotaru had finished jotting down on her notebook and she had her attention on a certain seat at the back of the class now. A seat between Ruka and Mikan was empty, a sign that a certain fire caster was absent from the class. It didn't bother Hotaru too much since she knew the fire caster had a mission yesterday (after blackmailing Ruka with his latest embarrassing photo) and he might be absent because of it.

What bothered her was the empty seat in front of her best friend's seat.

The fire caster didn't come. He might be ditch Narumi's class or get wounded after doing his mission and get rest to heal his condition. But the black-haired girl?

Sure, the black-haired girl also had been absent for a few times before and Narumi would tell them what was happening to her that she had to be absent. But today, even Narumi himself didn't say anything about the girl's absence.

Did Jacklyn's absence have something to do with the fire caster's nonappearance today?

Hotaru shifted her gaze back to the blackboard in front of the class after a while. She glanced at her pretending-to-sleep seatmate and nudged his elbow lightly. At this cue, Bourne opened his eyes a bit and looked at her, his eyebrows raised in question.

"Are Hyuuga resting in his room again?" Hotaru asked in a low voice while leaning her chin on her palm, pretending to pay attention to Narumi.

"Nope. I've checked it this morning," Bourne answered smoothly.

"Hospital?"

"Haven't checked it. Maybe later. He's not in his mission again for sure."

Hotaru quirked an eyebrow at his statement. "How do you know?"

Bourne closed his blood-red eyes and tipped his head back a little. "I stopped by the building where he should do his mission last night and he wasn't there. Moreover, there were two ambulances and I saw two corpses being lifted into it," he muttered. "I guessed he had finished the mission."

The raven-haired girl looked down at her note book. "…Is there anyone else doing missions beside the two of you?"

The blonde-spiky haired lad was silent for a while, thinking, before he answered, "There are a few students in the Dangerous Ability's class that do missions beside us."

"…How about…the one that is from other class?"

Bourne turned to Hotaru and tilted his head. "Who do you mean?"

The raven-haired girl turned quiet and stole a glance at the back of the class. Curious, Bourne followed her gaze to the back of the class and saw two empty seats near Mikan. He recognized the empty seat beside the brunette was Natsume's, but barely remembered the name of the black-haired girl that owned the empty seat in front of her. He had never talked to the girl anyway.

"Since when you get worried about Hyuuga?" he asked his raven-haired seatmate while eyeing Natsume's empty seat, thinking that it was what Hotaru had been watching since a few minutes ago.

"I'm not worried about that boy. He can ditch this class or lay on the hospital bed for all I care," was Hotaru's cold answer.

The corner of his lips tugged up a bit at her reply. "Then why are you stealing glances at his empty seat now and then?" he teased.

Hotaru rolled her eyes. "Not his seat, but the one that's in front of Mikan."

"What's wrong with that seat?"

"The wrong isn't with the seat, but the owner of the seat."

One of his eyebrows rose at her statement. "What's with the black-haired girl?"

"I'll tell you if you tell me what your mission in Japan is," Hotaru said, turning back to the blackboard and writing down another new note to her notebook.

"Well, that's a hard choice," Bourne murmured as he leaned his elbow on the desk, watching the pen in her hand move with ease on the white surface of her notebook.

Not long afterwards, the bell rang, bringing a happy look to the students' faces as they sighed and yelled in happiness when the class had been over. A loud greeting was given to Narumi, who smiled and walked out from class, and then the sound of shuffled chairs and desks was heard next. One by one, the students walked out from class and headed to the cafeteria.

Hotaru closed her book and shoved it into her bad along with her writing utensils. She stood up and bent down to grab her bag, leaning her face a bit closer to Bourne to whisper, "It's called trading information."

Bourne gave her a smirk, not bothering to get up from his seat. "It will have to wait longer then."

Hotaru returned his smirk with a small smile on her face that only could be seen by him. "I'll be waiting for that day to come."

"Hotaru!" Their conversation was disturbed by Mikan who ran to their direction with a delighted face while dragging Ruka along behind her. "Let's go to the cafeteria!" she exclaimed, looking at Hotaru and Bourne by turns.

Bourne got up from his seat and slung his bag on his back. "I pass," he said as he shoved his hand into his pocket. Before he took any step to walk out from the class, he glanced at the raven-haired girl from the corner of his eye and spoke, "I'll see you later, Hotaru." He then walked away from them, lifting the earphones that was dangling around his neck and putting them on his ears.

"What's wrong with him, Hotaru?" Mikan asked, putting a finger to her chin while staring at Bourne's walking figure in wonder.

"Nothing is wrong with him. He's like that anyway," the inventor replied without any interest. She turned to Mikan and Ruka, raising an eyebrow when she caught Ruka's envious stare while he watched Bourne walking away. "Something's wrong, Nogi?"

Ruka snapped his head to her and shook his head rapidly. "No, nothing's wrong," he lied as he smiled.

Hotaru raised an eyebrow at him for a while, unconvinced by his answer, but then she let it go and headed to the door.

Just then, a small yellow bird flew into the room and landed on Ruka's head. Hotaru and Mikan stopped on their track and looked at Ruka. The bird was chirping as loud as it could, trying to say something to the animal-pheromone alice user. Ruka nodded and heard it calmly at first and his eyes widened in surprise after a few seconds.

Both girls sensed something wasn't right, judging from his expression. Hotaru had a hint what it was, but Mikan was clueless about it. Curious, the brunette asked the still-surprised lad, "What's wrong, Ruka-pyon?"

Ruka didn't answer her question right away. He continued to hear the bird chirping to end before he patted the bird's head to show his gratitude and dismissed it. Once the bird had been out of the class, Mikan shifted her gaze to the blonde-haired lad again. His face was pale, a sign of a bad news.

"…Ruka-pyon? Are you alright?"

"…Natsume is in the hospital…" he muttered, covering a half of his face with his right hand.

Both girls froze on their spots. "…What?" Mikan queried, trying to confirm what he had just said.

"Natsume is in the hospital," he repeated, trying to keep his voice low despite the shock and worry he had now. "He got injured badly from his last night's mission."

-x-

She awoke to the uncomfortable feeling on her back. Turning to her side, she tried to ignore the feeling and swim into oblivion again, but to no avail. Something soft caressed her cheek, as if it was nudging her to wake up. She lifted her hand and slapped the thing away, opening her eyes a bit when her hand made contact with something fluffy instead of human skin like what she expected. She found herself face-to-face with the green curtain that was draping over the window.

'…Where am I?' Jacklyn thought as she rubbed her eyes and yawned a bit after the deep sleep. It seemed like it had been a long time since the last time she could sleep well without any dream. Usually, this was a good starter of a good day for her.

Getting up from her laying position, Jacklyn found out that she still had the pair of white wings on her back, which she believed was the thing that tickled her cheek before. She sighed and took her time to look around the room where she was now. She was familiar with the room and she knew she had been there for a few times before. White color and antiseptic smell; both things were so familiar in her senses that she was sure she was in the hospital right now. Only, she didn't remember how she could get there.

She brought one hand to her head and closed her eyes, trying to recall the event before she found herself waking up in the familiar place. A few vague pictures were flashing behind her closing eyelids and she couldn't grasp what they were. Her eyebrows wrinkled as she concentrated more to remember. And when yesterday's event dawned to her, she shot her eyes open and leapt off of her bed.

She ran to the door and was about to reach for the handle when the door suddenly opened revealing a nurse. The woman smiled down at her and said, "What's wrong with the panicked face, dear?"

"Um…uh…I…How could I get here…?" Jacklyn asked in uncertainty.

The nurse walked in and closed the door behind her. She placed her hands on Jacklyn's shoulders and turned the younger girl to the other direction. "You fell unconscious after you walked into the hospital, dear," the woman answered while pushing Jacklyn to the direction of the bed by her shoulders. "You shouldn't move too much when you have that ugly bruise on your waist. It worsened. It's good that you came to the hospital at the right time. It would be painful if we didn't treat it immediately"

Jacklyn looked up at the nurse and blinked. She placed one hand on her waist and pressed the part where it should have been hurt, and realized that she didn't feel any pain again. She felt glad for it. "Thank you," she uttered. "…And…I didn't mean to make it worse…"

"It's okay." The nurse smiled and withdrew her hands when they had arrived at the side of the bed. "Just be careful next time."

Jacklyn nodded and climbed on the bed again. She watched in quiet as the woman moved to the window and slid the green curtain to the side. Sun light bathed the room in the next second, not living any corner in darkness. Jacklyn narrowed her eyes at the sudden brightness and then turned her stare to the nurse who was walking to the end of the hospital bed.

"…What about the boy who was with me at that time?" she asked, worry and curiosity filling her head.

The nurse stopped walking and looked at her, sorrow in her eyes. "Ah…Hyuuga, you mean?"

Jacklyn didn't like the gaze the nurse gave her. No matter how much she hated the lad, she didn't want something bad happen to him, not when she had pushed her body to its limit just to bring him back to the academy. Jacklyn clenched her hand to brace herself for the answer the nurse would give later. Clearing her throat from the nervousness, she parted her lips and spoke, "Yes. How is he?"

The nurse didn't immediately answer. Hesitation could be seen in her eyes. It seemed like she was contemplating whether to tell Jacklyn about the truth or not, while the younger girl clenched her fist tighter trying not to lose her temper at nurse's silent treatment.

"…Miss…"

The nurse sighed. "I don't think I have any authority to tell you about his condition, but…"

"I just want to know if he's fine," Jacklyn intervened, trying to convince the nurse to tell her about Natsume's condition. The longer the nurse avoided her question, the bigger the uncomfortable feeling in her heart grew. And Jacklyn didn't like it at all.

The woman heaved another sigh and walked to the side of the bed, her eyes staring at the younger girl in sympathy. "His condition isn't that good."

A loud thump was heard from somewhere in her heart. Jacklyn felt like her breath being drawn away for a few seconds as the statement escaped from the nurse's lips.

"The bullets had been taken out from his body, but…" The nurse closed her eyes and bent her head, her clutch on the paper in her hand tightening. "…Hyuuga has a more complicated condition then you think…He has passed the critical moment though, but still…"

Jacklyn didn't need to ask what it was. She had had a hint what the nurse meant with 'a more complicated condition'. "His alice is the fourth type…" she mumbled unconsciously, gaining a surprised look from the nurse. "…He overused his alice…"

"How do you know?" the woman queried.

This time, it was Jacklyn's turn to be silent. She looked down on her hands that were on her lap. She thought about the day when she found him at the hospital for the very first time. She always wondered if the lad was sick and now all of it was clear to her.

Jacklyn snapped out of her trance and looked back at the nurse. "Did he always do check-up routinely and get medicine in this hospital?"

The nurse looked at her in astonishment and confusion. "Yes, but how do you-"

"Where is he now?" Jacklyn butted in, grasping the bed sheet in her hands. She needed to see him now, to make sure that he would be fine.

"You don't mean to-"

"Yes. I want to see him," Jacklyn stated, her dark-brown eyes staring sharply at the woman. "Where is he now?"

-x-

"How's your short reunion with Imai yesterday?"

Bourne looked up from his bag and smiled at Persona. "I have a good time. Too bad I couldn't stay longer," he replied. After groping inside his bag for a few seconds, he finally took out a small, brown envelope and placed it on the desk in front of him.

Persona raised one of his eyebrows when he saw the envelope. "I assumed you have gotten the information then?"

The blonde-haired lad shook his head. "That doesn't contain all of the information we need. It's just a small part of it."

"Hm…" The white masked man took the envelope, opened it, and took out a few papers from inside it. He leaned his back to the back of his comfy seat and read the paper thoroughly.

Silence engulfed both of them for a few minutes and Bourne filled it by putting on his earphones and listening to his i-pod. He crossed his right leg over his left leg and leaned back on his seat, his head bobbing a bit following the beat of the music. This had been his habit for a long time now, because he wouldn't have to hear unnecessary sounds by listening to the music.

He gazed his eyes around the empty Dangerous Ability class where they were meeting now. It was dark and cold like usual. Nothing changed. The only difference his eyes could catch was the curtains that was draping over the windows, making the room look darker than usual.

"So, it states about their plan which they would sneak one person from their side into this school to act as a spy," Persona broke the silence, dragging the lad's attention to him. "But they didn't say who, how and when."

Bourne shrugged. "As I said, it just contained a small part of it. We need to get more information about the spy that they send."

Persona put the paper down on the desk and nodded. "I agree with you." He looked up and smiled. "So, I assumed you don't mind to be put in charge in this case."

A confident smile touched Bourne's lips. "No, I don't. Besides, this is the reason why I came here, right?"

Persona gave him a sideways smile.

The blonde-spiky haired lad then stood up and slung his bag over his shoulder. "Well, I should go to the hospital now," he said as he walked to the door, waving at the masked man over his shoulder. "I want to check if Black Cat is there."

"He's there."

Bourne stopped on his way and turned his head a bit to Persona. "How do you know?"

Persona didn't look at him, his eyes remained on the paper on the desk. "I got a call from the hospital this morning. A girl brought him there."

One of Bourne's eyebrows rose at the last statement. "A girl?" he repeated. He wondered who she could be, since there should be no one wandering at the academy's field after passing the night time. Everyone should have been in their dormitories by the time Natsume finished his mission.

Persona leaned his elbows on the desk and intertwined his fingers. His lips formed a small smile at the male's interest. "She ever entered the hospital a few times before. There are one or two nurses that recognize her. I'm planning on doing further research about her."

"Who is she?"

"I bet you know her. She's in your class."

Bourne bent an eyebrow in confusion.

"Her name is Jacklyn."

-x-

"Sorry, but no one is allowed to see him now."

The doctor's speech brought disappointment to the two of three middle school students who were standing in front of him. Ruka and Mikan tried to convince the doctor to let them in, but the man didn't change his mind. He just shook his head and ushered the tree students out of the hospital. Hotaru didn't show any emotion at the rejection, unlike the other two that stared at the hospital in dissatisfaction.

"Why don't they let us see him?" Mikan mumbled, looking down to the ground. "Is his condition really that bad?"

Ruka didn't answer her question. His blue eyes kept staring at the entrance of the building in worry.

The raven-haired girl spared them a brief glance and started to walk away from the place. This action of hers got both attention and, soon, the two followed her from behind. However, when the smart inventor didn't take the usual way to go to the dormitory or school, Ruka and Mikan started to get wondered.

Hotaru walked out of the path and into the trees and bushes. She turned her head a bit to her companions and put her forefinger onto her lips, signaling them to be quiet. Ruka and Mikan nodded before following the inventor again.

The owner of the violet eyes walked further into the bushes and trees, knowing well where she would go, while her companion were completely clueless at what their destination was. When a huge, white outer wall came into their views, they stared at it in awe and shock.

"Isn't this the hospital building?" Ruka asked, trailing his eyes up the building.

Mikan gazed around the place they were standing now. It was quite secluded since they were being surrounded by bushes and trees. They wouldn't be found out if they peeked into the patient's room through the window.

Somehow, she remembered she ever did it once years ago, when the fire caster were also being hospitalized in the same building because of his unwell condition; except at that time, she was with Sumire. But thanks to their single-minded action, they saw something unexpected in the room. Natsume was drugged and kidnapped by Reo, the superstar who was actually one of AAO's members. But of course, they managed to be free from Reo's grasp after going through a few hard things.

Mikan's eyes softened at the memory. That was also the event that broke the first invisible wall between them. And as time passed by, the cold walls that separated him and her started to disappear, bringing them closer than before. The lad had managed to show his emotions a bit, even though he still annoyed her sometimes.

"What are you two doing here?"

Hotaru's monotonous voice brought the brunette back from her trance. Mimicking Ruka's action, she turned her head to the direction where she heard her best friend's voice.

Standing in front of a big window were Sumire and Youichi. The green-haired girl had her forefinger in front of her lips, signaling them to be silent, while Youichi just looked at the three new guests with a blank stare.

"We're not permitted to see Natsume-kun, so we have to take another way to see if his wounds are really worst," Sumire said, turning her head to the window. "It seems like the three of you also have the same purpose."

"Not me. I'm just helping those two lost puppies," Hotaru stated, pointing to Ruka and Mikan who were complaining about the call she gave them.

Youichi just cast them a bored look before turning his attention to the window, joining Sumire watching his dear Onii-chan inside the room.

Mikan, Ruka, and Hotaru moved near to the window, pushing Sumire a bit by her shoulder to get a good look of the room where a certain fire caster was resting. The cat-dog alice girl had no choice but to move a bit, emitting an annoyed grunt as she did so. She didn't dare to protest, knowing well what the inventor managed to do if she pissed the raven-haired girl off.

Mikan was excited, yet unsure at the same time. Sure, she wondered if the raven-haired lad was just fine like what she hoped. But she also couldn't chase away the pained feeling whenever she imagined the fire caster lay on the hospital bed with several heavy wounds on his body. It made her feel nauseous and wanted to wrap her arms around him, wishing she could lift up all wounds and pain he had with the simple action to make him better.

She squeezed herself between Hotaru and Ruka and braved a peek into the room where the fire caster was resting now. Her eyes roamed around the huge room before her attention fell on a certain figure on the queen-sized bed on the left side of the room.

The lad was sleeping in peace. Behind the blanket that covered his body until his ribs, she could see a white T-shirt covered his body. She also got a good amount of view of the bandage that wrapped his arm behind the short sleeve. The IV needle was injected into the same arm, a few centimeters below the bandaged part, right in the middle of the arm. Other than that, she saw nothing that gave her a note that he was in a critical state.

The moment she saw him in a better shape than what she had seen in her head, a strong wave of warmth flowed through her veins, washing the fear and anxiety she felt since Ruka announced that the fire caster was being hospitalized. A sigh of relief escaped from her lips without she realized.

"He's not wounded badly like you said," Hotaru commented, eyes staring at the sleeping fire caster without interest.

A small smile graced Ruka's face. "Doesn't that mean good news?"

"Yes," Mikan breathed, couldn't tear her eyes away from the sleeping figure.

Hotaru turned her attention to Sumire. Her expression was still emotionless. "So, who told you about Hyuuga?"

The green-haired girl pulled herself back from the window and pointed at Youichi, who didn't even bother to turn even though he knew they were talking about him. "It seemed like a ghost came to him and told him about this. I was with him at the corridor when I heard him mutter 'Onii-chan'. He suddenly ran away after that, so I decided to chase him."

"And the doctors and nurses didn't let you two meet them, so you decided to bring the poor kid here?" Hotaru finished for her.

"Well…" Sumire glanced at Youichi and then smiled dreamily. "What won't I do for the little boy's sake?"

The inventor rolled her eyes. "You just did it because he's close to Hyuuga."

The cat-dog alice girl just ignored her.

"Eh? Who's that?" Mikan placed her forefinger on the surface of the window, pointing to the direction of the door.

At the cue, Hotaru and Sumire paid their attentions to the direction where Mikan was pointing at.

A girl in patient's white attire walked into the room, a pair of white wings attached to her back. She closed the door behind before she turned her head a bit to Natsume's sleeping figure. As she detached herself from the door and walked approaching the bed, her waist length black hair was swaying lightly behind her, following her every movement. A white mask with silver ornament along the edge of the shape covered a half of her face, just leaving a small portion of her nose and her pink lips bare to their eyes. The mysterious girl then stopped at the end of the bed, just watching the fire caster rest.

"I don't recall there's a student with wings alice in this academy…" Ruka murmured.

"I don't know either…" Mikan butted in.

"I can ask my brother to confirm about it. Though as far as I know, my brother never once mentioned about a student with wings alice." Sumire scrunched up her nose in jealousy. "And how in the hell could she get into Natsume-kun's room? The nurses or doctors should have banned her from entering even though she's one of the patients in the hospital."

"Well, maybe she's Natsume's friends?" Mikan guessed.

Sumire snorted. "We're also his friends, and most importantly we're his classmates. But we're not permitted to see him."

"Maybe she sneaked in?"

The green-haired girl clenched her fist in front of the window. "I can't forgive her!! I want to be the first girl that visits him and wishes him to get well soon!" she exclaimed and then her eyes turned dreamy. "And then he will realize that I'm the only girl that really pays attention to him every time, every day, and that I'm the right girl for him! But…" A fire blazed dangerously in her eyes. "That unknown girl has beaten me, the leader of Natsume-Ruka fan club, to it!! I'll get her back for this when I meet her!!"

Ruka and Mikan shook their heads at Sumire's obsession. After all these years, they thought the girl's obsession towards Ruka and Natsume had lessened, which turned out it was wrong. Though her hatred towards the nullifier did lessen quite much, but they doubted her passion to be a lover of one of the hottest boys in the middle school would fade anytime soon.

Hotaru narrowed her eyes, eyeing the mysterious female's figure inside the room with caution. She knew she had ever seen the mysterious girl somewhere. Even though it might not be the same girl, but she believed she ever saw the almost same figure. But where? And when?

The mysterious girl's lips curled into a small smile upon seeing the lad sleep peacefully, as if she was glad that he was safe. Her lips then moved, saying something to the unconscious fire caster, which Hotaru managed to read and assumed that they were 'get well soon' words. After saying the three words, the girl turned away and walked to the door. She was about to leave the room when the door opened and a familiar blonde-spiky haired boy showed up in the way.

"Bourne…?" Hotaru said in a low voice, which didn't go unnoticed by Ruka. The animal pheromone alice user grimaced a bit upon hearing the inventor mention the name of the newest stranger in the room.

"Oh, right! He's the one who entered the academy at the same time with Jack-kun!" Sumire confirmed, placing both hands on the window surface. "He also got permission to visit Natsume-kun?!" she whined. "Why we didn't?!"

No one responded to her wail. The four were watching the scene in front of them in silence, wondering what would happen next. Hotaru caught a brief movement of Bourne's eyes at them, flashing with caution, before the mentioned boy grabbed the mysterious black-haired girl by her right wrist, tugged her out of the room, and closed the door behind, leaving the fire caster resting alone once again.

Hotaru squinted in suspicion. As if he read her mind, Ruka voiced out, "It looks like he knows the girl."

"Great! I can ask him who she is and give her a lesson!" Sumire punched her right hand, which was curled into a fist, to her left opened palm.

"Better not. He will just ignore you," Hotaru quipped. "He's the same with Hyuuga, more or less."

Mikan blinked. "Is he?"

"Believe me," the raven-haired lass stated, not realizing the dark aura that come from a certain blonde-haired lad beside Mikan.

"So, who's the mysterious girl? How can he know her?"

Hotaru shook her head and shifted her gaze back to the closed door on the other side of the room. "But I believe I ever saw her somewhere…"

She heard someone suck in a sharp breath on her right and glanced to see who it was. Youichi, who had been forgotten for a while, was standing with his hands resting on the smooth surface of window. His shoulder tensed and his eyes widened, which irked Hotaru's curiosity. His mouth hung open a bit and a single word that came out in a form of soft breath was enough to satisfy her prying mind.

"…Miss Angel…?"

-x-

Jacklyn blinked as she let herself be dragged by the new student in her class, wondering what he was doing that for. She swung her feet fast, trying to follow the blonde-haired lad's speed in walking so she wouldn't trip and fall. "H-hey, where are we going to?" she asked.

Bourne didn't answer and just kept walking, or trotting to be exact. He turned to different corridors a few times, which made Jacklyn confused which direction that would lead her back to her room. She was still in her patient's attire and she didn't want to walk out of the hospital in the clothes. People might think she was running out of the hospital.

Drowning deep in her own thought for a while, Jacklyn didn't realize that they had stopped until her back was being slammed onto the wall a bit rough. The white wings she had with her added an extra pain to her back. Surprise came over her at the hard contact and she unconsciously let out a gasp. Two large hands held her shoulders, pressing her onto the wall so she wouldn't be able to escape. Jacklyn opened her eyes and found two sharp blood-red orbs staring straight back at her. She never thought the red eyes would look scarier from short distance and the gaze he gave her sent a shiver down her spine.

"W-what?" she managed to choke out despite the nervousness that overwhelmed her.

Bourne squinted in wary. "Is that true that you're the one who took Hyuuga back to the academy?"

Jacklyn's eyes widened slightly and Bourne, being so close to her, realized the small changing in the girl's expression. "W-w-what d-do you mean…?" she stuttered, surprised to hear the question coming out of his lips. She didn't think anyone would catch her in action yesterday's night when she flew passing the academy's gate.

…Oh wait.

It could be the nurses and doctors that informed the academy about her. Seeing as she was unconscious before she could tell the nurse not to let anyone know she was the one who brought him to the place, there was no wonder that they ignored the identity protection she needed and did the usual procedure.

"Yes? Or no?" he asked with a deep voice, demanding an answer. "…Jacklyn-san?"

Jacklyn swallowed and ground her teeth inside her mouth in anxiety. How was she supposed to answer this kind of question? She had promised not to tell anyone about the missions and trainings she did, and yet here she was, being pinned to the wall and interrogated by a new student that just entered the academy a few days ago.

Crap.

"Uh…W-well, I…happened to find him near the gate…?" she replied, cursing inside her head at the uncertain tone in her voice when she spoke.

He quirked an eyebrow and loosened his hold on her shoulders. "And what's with the pair of wings behind you?" He pointed at one of the wings on her back.

Jacklyn pressed her lips together and fixed her gaze down at the hospital slippers she wore. "I…accidentally used my alice yesterday…and it caused this wings to appear on my back," she muttered, though she was sure the lad could hear it. "…I…can't do anything about the wings…and just wait until it disappears by itself…"

Silence engulfed both of them.

Jacklyn took her time admiring the combination between light green and white colors on the hospital slippers, hoping it would kill the nervousness she felt. After sometime, she peeked at the male in front of her through her eyelashes, wondering why he was so silent. When she spotted him still staring at her, she quickly averted her gaze somewhere else and, for the first time ever since they stopped, she realized they were in an empty room.

There was an empty single bed and a bedside table at the right corner of the room and the window was being covered by a green curtain. Two steel chairs were standing beside the bed. With just a small number of furniture occupying the room, an empty impression was created in the air inside it.

"Somehow, I have another idea about what happened yesterday," Bourne broke the silence, drawing Jacklyn's attention to him, "and how you ended up bringing him here." The last sentence he said sent a cold chill through her body.

"Nothing happened!" the drawing alice user exclaimed. "I just happened to find him lying near the gate. That's all!"

"No student is allowed to wander around the academy without permission at night," Bourne stated. "And I believe Hyuuga came back to the academy in the middle of the night. How did you get out of the dormitory without being spotted by the robot?"

"I…" Jacklyn glanced away, looking at everywhere but him. Her hand clenched and unclenched in uneasiness. "…I…" She swallowed a lump in her throat, clearing her voice. "I flew out through the window in my room with this wings…" she admitted. 'Well, a small piece of truth won't hurt.'

"And what were you doing there at night?"

Jacklyn bit her lower lip. "…I…couldn't sleep…so I thought I would get some air for a while…"

"Okay," Bourne responded, and they were quiet once again.

Jacklyn's heart thumped hardly behind her ribs, as if it was about to jump out and run somewhere to hide. She also could feel her blood pounding everywhere in her veins, as if they were about to explode. The pressure was too much and she knew she had to make an excuse to get away from the room before her whole body exploded for real because of the tension. Well, it's not like she wished it to happen in the reality though.

"I-"

"I still have a few questions again," Bourne cut her off, "but I think I'll just ask you one more question before I let you go and rest."

Jacklyn nodded and looked up, finally meeting his gaze. His blood-red eyes bore into hers, sending the same fear feeling into her mind, but she braved herself to lock her eyes with his. "…Yes…?" she managed to speak without quavering.

Bourne shoved his hands into his pockets, his eyes still on her. "Why do you have to hide yourself as Little Angel?"

Uh oh.

--To be continued--


	28. 28th Piece: Shattering

**illutia mist: Yes! I updated it! Finally!**

**Natsume: (Rolls eyes) Took you long enough.**

**illutia mist: Well, why don't you try being ME? (Glares at Natsume)**

**Natsume: Nope. Weakling. (Sticks out his tongue)**

**Jacklyn: But this weakling has tortured us for a long time in this fic.**

**illutia mist: Right. (Smiles haughtily)**

**Jacklyn: (Glares at the 28th Piece script) This has to end now. (Lights up a lighter in her hand)**

**illutia mist: No! (Snatches the script away)**

**Natsume: You don't own us.**

**illutia mist: I own her. (Points at Jacklyn)**

**Mikan: And Bourne Severity belongs to Ryuamakusa4eva.**

**Jacklyn: Give. Me. The. Damn. Script. (Walks approaching me with the lighter)**

**illutia mist: Ruuunn! (Runs away)**

**Jacklyn: You stupid freaky author! (Chases illutia)**

**Mikan: (Sweat drops) Uh…hope you enjoy this piece…**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**28th Piece: Shattering**

"I…don't know what you're talking about."

Jacklyn must congratulate herself for even managing to give a comeback at Bourne's surprising question. However, inside her body, her heart betrayed her. The tiny source of her life was thumping so hard that she felt it would explode in any second if the blonde-spiky haired lad asked her another shocking question.

She cursed to herself. Of all people inside the academy, he had to be the one who found out about her secret nightlife. But then, she would be doomed if the one who discovered it was a teacher.

'This might be better,' she induced herself. 'Maybe I still can erase his suspicion, if I'm lucky that is.'

Bourne raised an eyebrow slightly, unconvinced by her lack of knowledge about his question just now. "I'm perfectly sure that you know what I'm talking about, Jacklyn-san."

She swallowed the lump in her throat with difficulty.

What would she do now?

"Uh…maybe you're mistaking me for someone else?" She gave him a nervous grin.

"Am I?" he inquired. "With the long black hair and mask, you're no different than Little Angel."

"I don't know who Little Angel is…"

"Really…?"

Jacklyn nodded, eyes glued to the floor. But no matter how much she wanted to divert her attention toward another thing to lessen her nervousness, she couldn't help feeling Bourne's scrutinizing gaze on her.

Was her lie that easy to be seen through?

All this time, she managed to keep her secret from her friends and teachers. She knew that some of them might have suspicion when she told them the reason why she was sleepy or late, but no one of them ever asked her furthermore like what Bourne was doing right now. Not to mention he was a new student who had not stayed long in the academy.

Jacklyn blinked. Something clicked inside her head.

How did he know she was Little Angel?

Not only her nickname, he also knew her disguise when she was Little Angel!

Jacklyn looked up at him with wide eyes, only to find him giving her a curious look when he saw her shocked expression. The questions about how he knew about her disguise and who he was filled her head. They almost slipped out of her mouth, if it was not for the loud crashing sound suddenly coming from outside the room, which was followed by the faint murmur of a female.

Jacklyn clamped her mouth shut, swallowing the questions back to her throat. The sound of trolley being moved was heard next, getting fainter and fainter as it moved away from the room she and Bourne were in now.

When silence dawned upon them once again, Bourne sighed and stretched his hand to the right side of her, making the girl jump back in surprise. He raised an eyebrow at her strange reaction, blood-red eyes searching for the reason in her orbs.

Jacklyn braved a look at his hand, only to find out that it was actually reaching for the doorknob. Her cheeks reddened a bit at her foolish misunderstanding. She then focused her gaze to the floor again while moving a bit to the side, giving him more access to open the door.

Without waiting anymore, Bourne opened the door and walked out. When he passed her, he muttered in a low voice, "I'll keep an eye on you."

Her eyes widened a bit at his declaration, but before she could say anything, he had gone. She was left dumbfounded at the door with jumbling thoughts and mixed feelings between fear and anxiety. Her knees felt weak all of a sudden and she leaned her side on the door before her legs gave up on her weight.

Oh, God, she had been careless by wearing her secret disguise just because she believed no one in the academy would recognize her, except Natsume. This was bad news. Really, really bad.

Trying to calm down herself, Jacklyn closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

It did not do much. She still could feel the uneasiness tugging her somewhere in her mind.

"…Damn it…"

Her secret was in the edge of discovery.

-x-

Bourne was on his way going out of the academy hospital when he spotted three middle school girls standing in the middle of the lobby, just a few meters in front of him. An invisible smile made its way across his lips when he recognized one of the girls.

Hotaru looked at him with an impassive gaze, hands dangling on her sides. She waited for Bourne to get closer to them before she questioned him, "What are you doing here?"

Bourne shrugged. "Visiting someone. What else?"

The inventor lifted an eyebrow. "…Who's that girl?"

"Which?"

"The one you dragged out of Hyuuga's room."

"Ah…" He shoved his hands in his pockets. "I have no idea."

"Bourne…"

He lifted one hand in front of her face and gave her a knowing look. "I have another thing to do now. Can I talk to you later?"

Hotaru stared blankly at him for a while, trying to comprehend his unspoken sign. Her eyes searched for his blood-red ones in silence before she closed her eyes, heaved a soft sigh, and nodded. "I'll see you later then."

Bourne inclined his head briefly to both girls before putting on his earphones and walked out of the hospital in calm gesture. Hotaru watched his back in wary, knowing the boy was hiding something from her. It might be the remaining clues she needed to complete the puzzle.

"Hotaru?"

Her gaze flickered to the brunette, who seemed to be watching her and Bourne since minutes ago. Worry was evident on her face. Shaking her head, Hotaru took Mikan's hand and led both of them out of the hospital. Besides, it was no use for them to stay there longer. They were not allowed to visit the fire caster anyway, and she had no intention to do that. She just came into the hospital to find Bourne. Besides, all of their friends had gone back to class to prepare for the next period.

"Hotaru, are you okay…?"

"I'm fine." She kept her gaze forward. "Don't worry."

Mikan was not convinced by her best friend's short answer, but she knew Hotaru would not tell her more than that. Squeezing the inventor's hand lightly, she managed a smile to form on her lips. "You know you can tell me if there's something bothering you. I'm ready anytime you want me to hear it," she chirped.

Though not saying anything, Hotaru threw the brunette a small smile and grasped her hand tighter.

Mikan grinned back at her for some time before it finally faded away the next second, replaced by a surprised gasp. Her feet stopped moving, forcing the other girl to discontinue their journey. Her eyes were not on Hotaru anymore. The pair of brown orbs were now staring at the receptionist, who currently was talking to a boy she was familiar with.

"Jack?"

On cue, the said boy ended his conversation with the receptionist and turned to the two girls, smiling when he found out who just called him. "Hi there, Mikan! And…"

"This is Hotaru Imai! She's my best friend!" Mikan chimed in.

"Ah, right. Imai." The orange-haired boy nodded, giving the inventor a warm smile. Hotaru, with an uninterested face, nodded back.

"By the way, what are you doing here?" the brunette asked, tilting her head in wonder.

"Well…" He scratched the back of his head. "I'm visiting Jacklyn?"

Both girls blinked, stared at each other, and looked back at the boy again. "You said…Jacklyn?" Mikan questioned in unsure.

"Yeah," Jack confirmed, letting out a soft sigh. "I couldn't find her in her room this morning. She also didn't come to the class. So I tried to search for her here. Guess what? They said she's being hospitalized since yesterday."

"Narumi didn't say anything about her entering the hospital," Hotaru cut in. It irked her curiosity to find out more and more odd things happened just in one day.

Jack put on an annoyed face. "I also want to know why. It's impossible for her to enter the hospital if it's not for something serious, isn't it?"

So it was not just her who sensed the strangeness in Narumi and the black-haired girl after all.

"So, how's she doing now?" Mikan asked, tried to lessen the serious atmosphere that currently lingered around Jack and Hotaru.

The orange-haired lad shook his head. "I didn't find her in the room where she's supposed to be resting in now. I found the window wide open though, and I think she ran away through there, even though her room is in the third floor."

Hotaru's forehead creased. "Wait. On which floor is her room?"

Jack looked at her and blinked. "Uh…third?"

Her eyebrows bent down, suspicion visible on her face. "How in the hell she could run from the third floor? Does her alice enable her to do that?" Come to think of it. She had not found out about the black-haired girl's alice since the lass came to the academy.

Jack shrugged, a secretive smile on his face. "Why not?"

That raised her interest. "And what could it-"

"Oh, crap! I have to go now!" Jack exclaimed all of a sudden, cutting off whatever Hotaru was about to say. "Well then, I'll see both of you later in class then!" He grinned at both girls before turning his back to them and walking out of the hospital.

Hotaru mumbled incoherent words under her breath in annoyance, her amethyst eyes glaring at the spot where Jack disappeared seconds ago. Just when she was about to ask what the girl's alice, which might be one of the missing puzzles she needed, the orange-haired lad had to interrupt her question and flee away. She could not understand why everyone seemed to avoid her today when she needed answers to her questions, even though they might do it by unintentionally.

This puzzle had been too complicated. She needed to straighten the tangled thread, soon, before it turned even more complex for her to understand.

"Hotaru…"

"Hm?" she responded, though not once diverted her eyes from the hospital entrance.

"Where's Youichi?"

Only when her best friend asked the question did she turn her attention to the brunette, fully. "He's gone?"

-x-

"I'm doomed…" Jacklyn mumbled as she stared at the wide green field spreading in front of her. "I'm seriously doomed…"

After being confronted by the red-eyed boy, the black-haired girl eventually ran back to her room and changed back into her uniform, while taking off her wig and just leaving her mask on. She could not risk to let herself be seen by anyone else and leak her secret out. If she happened to be spotted by someone later, she would rather be seen as Miss Angel. With the decision in her mind, she opened the window widely, and flew out using her wings.

At that time, there was no one in the field yet, seeing the next period had started. She used this chance to rest her wings and sit on a branch at a rather large tree, pondering over what she had just gone through in the hospital.

Swaying her legs, Jacklyn looked up at the blue sky and moving clouds, soft sighs often heaved through her lips. Though that sunny day was so beautiful and bright, she could not help but feel otherwise. Her shoulders slumped slightly, as if there was an invisible burden being dropped on her from the sky, and she felt tired all of a sudden. Even the gentle breeze could not wipe off her gloomy mood away from her.

"Oh heaven, what did I do wrong that you hate me so much?" she whined for the umpteenth time, closing her eyes and sighing again.

She, for sure, did not know why all of this must happen to her at once. Problem after problem came approaching her these two days and it seemed like they would not stop just right here. She just could feel it. She sensed another problem would come soon, though she did not know when.

"Miss Angel…?"

But not this soon.

Swallowing, Jacklyn craned her neck down from the sky. Her eyes soon met with a pair of familiar green eyes, which stared at her curiously from under the tree. "H-hey!" She cringed at the way her own voice sounded, rough and awkward, just like someone who was just caught doing something illegal.

She faked a cough, clearing her throat, and then put on her usual smile on her face. "You're cutting off your class again?"

Youichi looked thoughtful for a while before he nodded.

Jacklyn did not miss his strange deed. The young boy was silent than usual when he was around Miss Angel. He never acted like this. He always looked cheerful and enthusiastic whenever he talked to the fake angel. This silence was so unusual and it intrigued her much.

She decided to find out whatever it was.

"Youichi? What's wrong?" Jacklyn asked softly, showing her concern.

The said boy shook his head and trailed his gaze down to the green grass, hands dangling limply on his sides. The drawing alice user tilted her head in bewilderment, not understanding even a bit of his unusual quietness. "Hey?"

"…Will you lie…?"

She blinked. "…Pardon?"

"…Will you lie if I ask you an important question?" he repeated and lifted his head, giving her a sharp stare.

Jacklyn was taken aback a little by his gaze. She did not see the gentleness in them like the one he always wore when she met him in Miss Angel form. This one was stronger, full of determination, and, somehow, there was a hint of anger swimming inside them.

Why was it? Did it have something to do with the question he wanted to ask her?

"…What is it?" she asked warily, both hands gripping the branch she was sitting on harder. Uneasiness developed inside her bit by bit as she waited for the words, which had yet to come out of the boy's mouth. "Youichi?"

"Stupid sketchbook girl…"

Her heart jumped at the nickname, her breath caught in her throat. Jacklyn pressed her lips together, trying to hold back a surprised gasp that was about to slip out of her lips when he mentioned the pet name he gave her in their first meeting. She thought he would not be interested in her plain, undisguised self since he always showed his bored expression whenever he saw her. Almost immediately, the worst possibility crossed through her mind.

'…Oh no…it couldn't be that he already…'

Just when her heart already hammered behind her ribs hardly, Youichi turned his head away, breaking their eye contact. "…Do you know…the stupid sketchbook girl who seems always wondering around Onii-chan recently…?"

"…Eh?" Jacklyn blinked. "Uh…is something wrong with her?"

"…No…"

"Then?"

He was silent.

Soft breeze blew passed them in between the long pause. Jacklyn continued staring at Youichi, demanding an answer, but the boy said nothing even though seconds had passed and still refused to meet her eyes.

That made her even more confused…and annoyed. She was not in the mood of playing questions and answers if this silence kept going on, especially when she was having a bad day. However, the boy seemed to be oblivious at this and she could not blame him for that since he did not know what she had just gone through.

But this silence…

It would make her crazy in any second if he did not utter what exactly he had in his mind.

Sighing, Jacklyn softened her face and, trying not to sound intimidating, she asked in a low voice, "Youichi, what are you trying to say?"

"…Feather…"

"…Huh?"

Youichi raised his head. "You haven't given me any feather for days."

Jacklyn laughed guiltily, fidgeting on the branch she was sitting on. "Sorry…I'm…uh…a bit busy…"

"Can you give me one now?" He gave her his cute pleading look.

She could not refuse after seeing his expression. "Fine, fine," she chortled and lifted the wing-shaped sketchbook hanging on her neck.

Youichi watched intently as she opened the book and started to doodle something on it, soundless all the time. Just in seconds, the black-haired girl finished her sketch and put her hand on it. She concentrated on her Alice and, in no time, the white feather appeared in her hand, its shape exactly like those ones she had given him before.

Flapping her wings, Jacklyn jumped from the branch and landed on the ground, right in front of the young boy. With a smile on her face, she bent her body a bit and shoved the feather in front of his face. "Here you go!"

Again, he did not make a direct move to grab the fluffy thing. He stayed still, his green orbs eyeing the girl in silence.

The older student tilted her head, the smile never wavering from her lips. "Come on. Take it."

After another five seconds of staring, he moved his little hand and clutched the end of the feather, bringing it in front of his chest. His eyes were impassive as he watched the corners of her lips tugged up higher in a satisfied smile.

"Hug me," Youichi commanded, opening his arms as wide as he could.

Jacklyn blinked once, smiled wider and bent down a bit to wrap her own arms around his small figure. She could feel the boy's hands gripping her upper arms. His calm, warm breath fanned her cheek. At that time, Jacklyn had no suspicion at his sudden request, though she faintly sensed his stiff and unsure motion when he was about to embrace her back.

"Miss Angel…" she heard the boy mumble as she closed her eyes.

"Hm?"

"…I'm sorry."

Before Jacklyn could take his words into her mind, she was suddenly being pulled roughly toward him. Next, with a hard tug on the corner of her mask, her one and only disguise slowly came off and she immediately pulled back on impulse, covering her now bare face with her hands. Her white mask fell on the grass right in front of Youichi's shoes.

"What-"

"…So this is your true face…" Youichi murmured while bending down to pick up the fallen mask.

Through the gaps between her fingers, Jacklyn watched him caress the corner of the mask with his thumb. She dragged her gaze up and gulped in anxiety when she could not read his expression. The elementary student had his head down, his long fringes covered a half of his face. The only thing that assured her he was unhappy was his strained lips.

"Liar."

Jacklyn, for once, felt a sharp prick in her heart. It hurt even more when the boy looked up at her. His angry green eyes penetrated through her being.

"You've been playing unfair," he hissed, throwing the mask he held to her feet, "sketchbook girl."

Jacklyn shook her head, still trying to cover her face though it was no use again.

"I…didn't mean to…"

He threw her a glare, impeding more words to be spoken out. "Once a liar, always a liar," he spat before turning his back to her and walking away, not even bothering to sneak a glance at her.

Once he was out of sight, Jacklyn leaned her side on the bark of the tree and lowered her hands to her mouth. She closed his eyes and breathed out a surrendering sigh. "Oh God…" she whispered. "What have I done…?"

'_Liar.'_

She moved her gaze to the neglected mask near her feet and crouched down. Stretching her hand, she touched the edge of the mask thoughtfully and bit her lower lip.

Maybe…maybe she was a liar after all. There were so many things she could not tell anyone. So many secrets she had been keeping all this time. So many lies came out of her lips because of it.

And she was not sure she was going to stop them soon, even though she knew someone would get hurt one day.

"…I'm sorry…" she mumbled, bending her head down. "I'm sorry…"

-x-

He stomped as hard as he could on his way to the class, not caring if that would draw people's attention to him. He did not mind if the world thought he was angry. He was as hell infuriated anyway. And it was a good thing that most of students were in the class for lesson at that time.

Youichi gritted her teeth while glaring to no one in particular, his hands clenched into tight fists. His feet, in anger, brought him to the corridor, which led to the Dangerous Ability class. When he turned at a corner and saw the familiar door at the end of the corridor, his awareness returned and he heaved an annoyed sigh. He took a step backward to the corner and leaned his back on the wall.

Damn. He was so stupid.

He should have known there was no angel for real in this world, and yet he still believed there was one when he saw her for the first time. The trace of doubt disappeared when he saw the pair of beautiful white wings on her back.

However, that was not real.

Youichi slammed his fist against the wall once and seethed. How could he be so foolish all this time? He had showed the fake angel his emotions, more than necessary. That girl must be smirking behind her mask the whole time, thinking he was such a fool, while playing with his feelings.

He should have just held onto his prior belief.

Slamming his fist on the wall again, he threw his head back, hitting it against the sturdy partition lightly for his stupidity. He closed his eyes in irritation and slight tiredness after cursing and stomping. Briefly, an image of the winged girl with long black hair inside his so-called brother's recovery room crossed his mind.

She was the one who triggered his memory about Miss Angel the moment she presented herself in the room. Was she the same person with the sketchbook girl who had tricked him all this time? Though the length of their hair was different, he could not help but feel suspicious.

"Crap," Youichi groaned before sliding down the wall and clutched his head in distress. More curses followed shortly. He felt worse, his irritation flaring up. Just by thinking about the fake angel, he felt like to destroy something. His hand curled into a tight fist, almost crushing the white feather he held.

"Just what in the hell have I done?"

All this time, he had been a fool.

-x-

"You're back already?"

Bourne stopped walking and lifted his head up when he heard the familiar voice. Just as he had thought, Persona was standing on the wall beside the door to his dorm room with his arms crossed in front of his chest. "How was it?" the man asked, not moving from his spot.

Bourne took one of his hands out of his pocket and let it dangle on his side as he leaned his weight to her right foot. "The girl? Yes, I met her there."

"And?"

He raised an eyebrow. "And what?"

"Did you manage to find something suspicious about her?"

Bourne's lips curled into a small, yet mysterious smile. This time, it was Persona's turn to lift one of his eyebrows.

"Interesting, yeah," the younger male replied simply before moving closer to the masked man. "She's quite secretive, don't you think so?"

Persona sneered. "And so are you."

"Am I?" Bourne remarked, stretching his hand out to the doorknob, a small golden key in between his forefinger and thumb. He pushed the key into the keyhole and turned it until he heard a small 'click'.

"If you're not, then why don't you tell Imai the reason behind your sudden appearance in this academy?"

The spiky-haired lad glanced at the man through his shoulder. Persona smirked and detached himself away from the wall. "I'm waiting for the right time," Bourne muttered, his eyes darkening a bit as he darted his gaze back to the doorknob. "And now is not the time. Not yet."

"Then when will it be?" Persona queried while fixing his white mask, which started to come loose.

"That day will come eventually," Bourne stated, pushing the wooden door open. "But not now," he added before ambling into his room and closing the door behind, leaving the masked-man standing in silence thinking about the answer he just gave.

Persona heaved a small sigh and took a few steps towards the door. Lifting his fist up, he knocked on it and inhaled. "Since Natsume isn't conscious yet, you'll have to replace him doing a mission tomorrow night," he said, loud enough for Bourne to hear. "Take a rest for this one day, little brother. You'll need it for the next mission."

Silence was the one answering him.

The older male shook his head and turned away, making his way out of the dorm, thinking it would be better if he left the lad alone this time.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, the said boy was staring at the floor in silence, hurt filling his eyes and his lips pressed into a thin line. Closing his eyes, he sucked in a deep breath and ambled to the inviting bed. Once he was close enough, he threw himself on the soft mattress and exhaled, though his face did not completely relax.

The incident that happened in his old academy came into his head. Behind his closed eyelids, he could still remember the horrible and painful view. The anguished screams and desperate pleads still rang clearly in his ears. Red filled the picture. He could hear his name being called, yet he could not do anything but watching those innocent people being slaughtered, one by one.

"Damn." He brought both of his hands onto his face, hoping it could cease the horrendous images away. However, instead of getting better, the illusions became worse. It was more vivid, more dreadful.

More bloody.

"Damn…Damn…Damn…" he hissed, his fingers pressed painfully against his skin. "Damn! Leave me alone!"

The nightmare never did leave him.

-x-

That night, the temperature was a bit colder than the previous night. Night wind was blowing a bit hard, sending cold to those who did not wear sufficient clothes outside the dormitories. The sky was dark, and cloudy. Not even one star was seen sparkling up there. Even the moon was hiding behind the dark clouds.

For Jacklyn, this gloomy condition really reflected her feelings now.

Standing in front of her window, the drawing alice user stared off into space, watching the endless darkness in the sky. Her fingers rested against the cool surface of the window, moving once in a while drawing invisible doodles. Soft sighs escaped from her lips from time to time, adding to the murky atmosphere she emitted around her.

She just could not believe how things could get worse just in two days, and that did not only bring physical pain to her. Just by remembering Youichi's expression when he accused her for lying to him, her heart ached, painfully.

She wished she could dismiss the thought away, forgetting the incident like it never happened in the first place. But it seemed so hard to be done. His pained look and venom words refused to vanish just like that.

"You can stop wasting your breath, you know."

Jacklyn rolled her eyes. "I can waste my breath all I want," she mumbled before turning to the door with a frown on her face. "What are you doing here anyway?"

The intruder smiled and closed the door behind him gently. "Just want to see how you're doing," Jack replied in ease as he sauntered to her bed, making himself comfortable on the small-sized mattress. "I heard from the blonde-haired teacher that you entered the hospital this morning. I came to visit you at lunchtime, but surprise! I found an empty bed in the room instead."

The said girl paled. "…Did Narumi tell everyone about the reason behind my absence?"

Jack blinked. "What if he did?"

The black-haired girl closed her eyes and gave out a long sigh.

This was bad. If Narumi knew she was hospitalized, that meant the hospital had informed the academy, especially the teachers, about their finding. It was worse enough to be found unconscious with the wounded fire caster in the middle of the night. But no. It had to be even worse by finding her in her disguise and wings. She was sure the academy would find out about her secret occupation at night, soon, if she did not do something.

But what could she do to divert the suspicion?

"I'm kidding," Jack's playful voice came into her ears. "That teacher didn't say anything about you. I pestered him so he would tell me why you were absent today. I wondered why he hid it though."

Opening her eyes, Jacklyn glared at the orange-haired boy. "I seriously will kill you for making a joke in this kind of situation one day."

He gave her a wide grin and lay on her single bed, letting out a content sigh when his back made contact with the soft cushioned furniture. "You won't do that, creator," he murmured, his eyelids dropping. "You love me too much to do that."

She snorted. "Keep on dreaming, boy."

"I will…" he hummed and then opened his eyes to look at her. "What's wrong, creator? You look rather annoyed today."

"Yes. It's because you're making joke in the wrong time and wrong place."

"Hey, hey, I did it to lighten the gloomy air I felt when I entered your room."

"You made it worse."

"Jeez, you're really not fun at all." He ruffled his hair in submission.

Her eyes narrowed sharply at him. "So what?"

Yes. She was not in the mood to play any kind of his joking game right now. This morning had started with a bad occasion, where Bourne just confronted her about her identity when she visited Natsume. It resulted in her reckless escape from the hospital in case someone would see her with her wings and met Youichi at her hideout, which then made the little boy hated her so much when he found out she was Miss Angel; the female he often talked to these weeks.

She was just having a bad day and he hoped she would laugh at his comeback? Hah! He wished!

"No, seriously, creator, what's wrong?" Jack's tone was soft. She could even feel there was a concern in his usual light, cheery voice. If she did not know him better, she might think he was worried about her.

Or so she thought.

"I'm fine," she grumbled, staring at the floor. She did not want anyone to see her in the misery she created on her own. She knew she could just forget about the bad events she had gone through, but the word Youichi said…it was unavoidable. It was carved so deep in her head, in her mind. "I'm really fine."

"Liar."

She flinched. Her heart ached again.

'_Liar.'_

Placing one hand on her chest, she clutched her pajamas as if she could lessen the pain by doing it. Her eyes were closed as she took a deep breath and then heaved it out.

She knew it. She already knew it for goodness's sake. Why was everyone so eager to rub it in her face?

"Jacklyn."

His voice was even softer this time, coaxing her to lift her head up meeting his gaze. The pair of blue eyes stared at her warmly, no anger or irritation in them even after she retorted all his words in rude manner. Her heart stirred. His smile, somehow, sent a calm and friendly vibe into her, wiping away her sorrow bit by bit from inside.

She opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but closed it again when the words died on her tongue and went back down her throat.

Her eyes stung all of a sudden and her throat tightened with whatever feelings she wanted to scream out. Jacklyn swallowed with difficulty and pressed her lips together, trying to prevent any kind of pathetic sound escaping from her mouth.

No, she was not going to cry and look feeble in front of anyone. Not even her own creation.

"Jacklyn, come here."

But his voice was so enticing and she was not sure she could ignore it easily.

Exhaling, Jacklyn took one step, two steps towards him. She stopped a few times on her way to the bed, where the lad was lying comfortably while watching her, but she did not back away.

No.

Even though she wanted to, she could not do it.

His deep blue eyes, which currently were focused on her, hypnotized her, telling her not to stop before she reached him. The voice and the gentle look on his face…they were calling her, lulling her to him. It was not long until she lost her control of her own body. They moved on its own, not even showing hesitation on the rest of her way to the mattress.

When she finally stood before him, Jack widened his smile and patted the empty place next to him. Jacklyn, without being told by words, knew what he meant and just obeyed by climbing onto the bed and curling herself up. Closing her eyes, Jacklyn let out a shaky breath as she felt a pair of strong arms came around her keeping her warm. She wondered, could a drawing feel this warm and nice for real?

"It's late now," Jack whispered while running his hand through her hair. "Don't think of anything again. Just sleep."

She did not reply, just fisting the fabric of his shirt to keep him in place, and buried her face on his chest.

"Sleep. Tomorrow, everything will be fine again." He kissed her forehead and her throat tightened even more, so tight that she felt it hard to breath.

"I hate you." Her voice wavered. Oh, how she hated him for his optimist thinking and his persuading voice. Even so, she could not deny that she liked them. His voice and his gentle touch, she really needed them now.

Jack, as if he knew she did not truly mean what she said, stayed still on his position while his fingers traced circles on her back, soothing her. His lips lingered on her forehead and, instead of a frown, she could feel them curling into a smile. "I know."

She bit her lower lip and pressed her face against his chest harder. A small tear leaked out of the corner of her eye before she gave up her consciousness, diving into a dreamless slumber.

--To be continued--


	29. 29th Piece: Wrong Target

**Ugh. This time I really didn't update for more than a half year, did I? No comment. Really.**** I don't even want to hear the characters making fun of me, so I lock them away somewhere this time. Haha. Just enjoy the 29th Piece in peace :)**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**29th Piece: ****Wrong**** Target**

Narumi was not that oblivious.

There was no way he was not aware of what happened to his own student when the hospital informed him about the black-haired girl's absence. And it was not because he did not care either that he hid it from the class she had been in.

He cared. A lot. Not to mention she was under his watching. But somehow, he thought he had to keep the information about her sudden appearance in the hospital in the middle of night from her classmates. He was sure she would ask him to keep quiet about that matter if only she had been conscious when he visited her.

The fact was, she was not.

Narumi sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose using his thumb and forefinger. The assignment papers his students had turned in that noon were scattering on his working desk messily. He had just finished examining a half of them when he drank the last cup of his coffee, the rest untouched.

He glanced at the blue clock on the wall of his room, noticing it had been midnight. Another sigh escaped from his lips as he closed his eyes for a moment and let his thought wander off. A particular face came into his mind and he had no choice but pondering on his visit to the hospital that morning.

After he retrieved the call from the hospital regarding two of his students, Narumi, being a caring teacher he was, immediately changed his mind from skipping to the teacher's lounge to running to the hospital with worry clouding his head. He just had one thing in his mind at that time; to make sure his pupils were fine and uninjured.

He managed to be the first person to visit her once he arrived at the white building. He got his permission to visit both of his students even though just for a while because one of them was under intensive care.

The first room he visited was Natsume's room, which was restricted to common visitors. Opening the white elegant door, he stepped inside and made his way to the bed where the unconscious younger male was lying on with careful steps.

Once he got a good look of the fire caster, his lips turned into a frown, unhappy upon finding wires and bandages attached to the teen's body. However, the constant beeping sounds from the heart monitor on the other side of the bed managed to wipe the cheerless look from his face a bit. At least the boy was still alive. He could not feel anymore relief than this.

He realized the boy's pale feature though, and knew that the dangerous power called Fire alice within his small figure had affected him even worse than before. It weakened him from inside, killing him little by little as he went on with his life. Even as his teacher, Narumi couldn't do anything to stop it. The only key to Natsume's freedom was to change the academy and, until now, nothing much of what Narumi had done was able to turn the situation into a better one.

Slowly but sure, the boy was dying, and all he could do was just watch.

Narumi left the room later, after he wished the boy to be well soon, and continued his journey to another student of his who was also being hospitalized in the same place. He took a few turns, smiling to the nurses he encountered on the way, before he finally stood in front of a brown wooden door far at the corner of the corridor.

He stayed still for a while, just staring at the door before lifting his right hand to turn the doorknob and peer inside. The room was dark as usual, since the curtain was being dragged over the windows to prevent anyone from getting a view of a certain person inside, just like what she wished him to do since the first time she entered the hospital. It seemed like a few nurses remembered his message to them, which was not to let anyone have a chance to get a view of her winged form, since the girl ever told him she did not want her alice to be found out. Besides, it would be a big ruckus if everyone knew the angel was her and he was afraid worse things would happen to her in the future. Who knows?

Narumi stepped inside and closed the door behind him quietly. On the bed, a pair of white wings formed a comforting circle, covering its creator from being woken up from her peaceful slumber. Eyes lingering at the curtain over the window, he closed the distance between him and the bed where his other pupil was resting on.

He trailed his gaze back to her sleeping form once he stood beside the bed, and was very relief when he found her unharmed at all. Her condition was far better than the fire caster and he couldn't help smiling at the good news.

But then, a question nudged him in the back of his head.

What did the girl do with Natsume at the Academy's gate?

He thought Natsume was on a mission, or so Persona informed the night before. Besides, with the academy's tight security in dormitories at night, how could the girl stalk out of her room to the gate in the middle of night? And what for? There was no way she knew the fire caster would come back in bad shape that she went through all the hardships just for him, right? Or was it?

Narumi shook his head. No. She showed how much she disliked the lad anyway. Besides, there was no way she knew he did missions, right?

But now she knew.

Sighing, he went out of the room after taking a last glance at Jacklyn. He couldn't stay longer since he had classes to teach, no matter how much he wanted to wait until the girl woke up and ask the questions he piled inside his head.

His reminiscence about the morning event ended when three knocks were heard on his front door. Standing up, Narumi reluctantly ambled to the door with the empty glass in his hand and pulled the door open. Misaki's expressionless face greeted him on the other side.

Leaning his side on the door frame, Narumi gave the other male a tired smile and spoke, "What's up, Misaki?"

"I just got news from the hospital that Hyuuga has come to consciousness," Misaki responded plainly. "He will still have to stay there for a few days until he is completely healed though."

Nothing could describe how happy Narumi was when he heard the good news. A relief sigh slipped out of his lips, followed by his softening expression; a mix of gladness and joy. At least one of his concerns was lifted off his mind, though it still didn't lessen his worry toward the boy's decreasing lifespan because of the alice he had. "Any other news?"

Misaki shook his head and turned away to go back to his room, but not before saying, "Don't worry too much. You'll only have more wrinkles and panda eyes."

Narumi had to chuckle at that. "Are you worried, Misaki-_chan_?"

At the nickname, the said man shot him a displeased look through his shoulder.

Narumi continued to chuckle, but it reduced eventually and, before disappearing behind the door, he uttered, "I'll try." Misaki gave a small huff and continued walking away, missing a teasing grin on Narumi's face.

Closing the door, Narumi staggered to his clean kitchen and placed his empty cup in the sink, a smile playing on his lips all the time.

Misaki was right. He was worrying things too much. Jacklyn might only be there coincidentally when Natsume came back from his mission injured. She might just sneak out of the dorm, simply out of boredom. Besides, it was not unusual if there were one or two students trying to sneak out of the dorm. That was what the dormitory's robot for, to keep them in their place. Jacklyn just happened to be lucky to be able to go out using the wings she created on her own.

Yes. It was just a coincidence.

Once the weighting thoughts were gone, his head felt light and the forgotten drowsiness came approaching him again. A small yawn managed to escape from his mouth. "Ah, time for sleeping! I think I'll make a small test tomorrow," Narumi chimed while trotting to his bedroom, leaving the dirty cup to be cleaned the next morning.

As for the other mysteries about the black-haired girl, he would think about them tomorrow, or ask the person herself. It seemed easier than trying to solve it by himself until a massive headache hit him.

-x-

Jacklyn hated the sun. Almost every morning.

It always rudely woke her up, even when she didn't want to end the only peaceful, comforting darkness she had embraced the night before. It would mean a new beginning, a start of a new day, a start of a new passion of life…and a start of another problem, which would only turn ugly at the end of the day. Eventually, she would ponder over the tiring events she had the whole day and become depressed and try to find solace again. It seemed that had been her routine ever since she came to Alice Academy.

And she was sure today wasn't an exception.

Feeling like stalling her wake, Jacklyn kept her eyes closed despite how bright the sun shone through her window and how warm the sensation on her back was as the sun rose higher and higher as time passed. She let her hand wander around her bed to feel, knowing something was missing from last night. The other side of her small bed was empty and cold under her traveling hand. The warmth that engulfed her the night before had disappeared, replaced by a thin layer of blanket which was now draping around her.

Lying on her side, Jacklyn curled herself into a ball and heaved a soft breath, upset and tired. She was upset because she could not extend her sleep longer when she still needed it. No matter how long she had been floating in her quiet slumber last night, she still felt tired, both body and mind. All she wanted to do was just to sleep, closing her eyes and not waking up for a long time, at least until all those problems decided it was time for them to go and leave her alone to her peaceful life again.

But a cold, yet gentle caress on her cheek determined to stop her from pitying herself and drowning in the unrealistic thought, followed by a smooth, teasing voice near her ear along with the fresh smell of soap. "Stop wailing in your misery and wake up already, creator."

She grumbled, knowing well who the intruder was, and hugged her knees. "I'm not wailing."

"You're wailing in there." A cold finger was pressed tenderly against her temple. "And it's so noisy that your head feels like blowing up anytime soon."

A small sigh was emitted through her parted lips. Lifting one of her hands, Jacklyn reached for his finger, which was pointed at her temple, and moved it away. Only, the interloper's hand was reluctant to lose the contact and instead wrapping around her small wrist when she let go of it. "Jack…" she growled quietly while trying to tug her arm away from his hold. "I'm tired…I want to rest…I don't care if I have to be absent from classes today…"

"You're acting like a kid."

"I _am_ a kid."

A warm breath touched her neck for a second, warning her of how small the distance between them, and she fidgeted, torn between contented and uncomfortable at the proximity. His thumb rubbed circles on her wrist, right on the flesh that covered her fast beating pulse. Almost immediately, a tingling shiver came from the touch and ran down her spine to her entire insides.

Jacklyn then decided that her creation had invaded her personal space and shifted away from him to cease another shiver. She yanked her hand a bit hard, forcing him to let go off her, and quickly brought it to her chest, now aware of the heat creeping on her cheeks.

"You're so stubborn."

Even though she had her back to him, she could imagine him shaking his head when the sentence rolled off his tongue. "Mind your own business," she muttered. "Just go to the class already, or you'll be late."

"Not that I care about that." One side of her bed weighed down and a gentle nudge teased her back the next second. "I just don't want you to be sulking in this tiny room of yours alone. It's not good for your mental health. Can't you feel the gloomy pressuring atmos-"

"Shut up, Jack," she interrupted while waving her hand to him. "I'm not going to get up in any second whatever you say, so shoo, shoo!"

When the weight was lifted off her bed, Jacklyn sighed and closed her eyes, assuming her creation finally gave up and decided to leave her alone that day. Another sigh of contentment came out of her lips again as she waited for sleep to claim her that morning. _At last_, she thought, _peace_.

But when she felt her body being hauled the next minute and the softness of the mattress was gone, Jacklyn had no choice but to snap her eyes open once more, squeaking in surprise when the suspect threw her over his shoulder not quite gently and moved away from her bed.

Oh, the rising anger after she overcame the shock was unbearable. Face red in embarrassment and infuriation, the black haired girl did the first thing that came into her head: balling her hands into fists and hitting his back with the strength she could muster at that time. "JAACCCKKK!" Her voice matched her frustration and the boy could not bring himself not to twitch at the high pitched sound. "PUT ME DOWN THIS INSTANT!"

Jack did not do as she commanded, but he did stop to speak, "Only if you promise you'll attend the classes."

"No."

"Suit yourself then." He continued his journey to the front door, this time not heeding all complains and rough treatments from her.

Jacklyn resumed hitting his back, sending harder and harder punches each time her fists made contact with Jack's back. Still, that didn't make the boy surrender and drop her off. When she turned her gaze to the soon-to-be-opened door, her face paled. There was no way she would go out of the dorm in her sleeping attire and let the whole academy see her messy appearance. It was a humiliation!

"JAACCCK!" she shouted with all her might as they neared the door. "Stop! Stoooopp! I can't go out like this!" She heard a faint hum of joy as a response and inwardly growled. The creation of hers really enjoyed teasing her now.

Irritated because the lad still didn't put her down to her feet, Jacklyn blew her fringes out of her eyes and delivered a firm pinch to Jack's back, hard enough to make him yelp, though it still couldn't change his mind to stop humiliating her.

What a guy.

"Good morning, Jackly-"

Along with the voice, Jacklyn felt a hard blow on her bottom, followed by an abrupt manly gasp and the view of her surroundings suddenly swirled. The next thing she knew, half of her body had been sprawling on the floor while another half was on top of Jack's upper body. Her forearms were sore a bit after shielding her head from making direct contact with the ground. She moaned in pain. "What the heck...?"

Standing in front of the door was Mikan with her mouth forming a big 'o', her hand hanging in the air near the doorknob. Behind the brunette, Hotaru watched with both eyebrows raised in interest. "Did we disturb something?"

Jacklyn groaned.

What a nice occasion to start the day.

-x-

"What do you think our special ability class will hold for the Alice Festival this year?"

Mikan lifted her head up to smile at Jack while trying to match her steps with his large ones. "I don't know. We haven't thought of any yet." A grin graced her face. "But I'm sure we will able to come up with something soon."

Jack retorted her grin with his excited one. "I can't wait to find out what it will be."

"Me too!"

Not too far behind the two happy friends, Jacklyn watched with a boredom kind of stare with the silent Hotaru beside her. The quiet atmosphere between her and the inventor somehow made her comfortable, too much that she felt bored and the forgotten sleepiness came back to her faster than she hoped for. Too bad, the sun and the hard pavement she was stepping on now were in the way. If only they were a lamp and a soft mattress, she would already turn off the light and go to Dreamland.

A yawn managed to break out of her lips. Bringing one hand up to cover her mouth, Jacklyn inwardly cursed the lack time of sleep she had recently, due to the secret training with Hirai at midnight to toughen her physical strength, though it was not often, and Natsume's missions. Sure, it was exciting at first. But as the routine went on, slowly and without doubt, she became troubled and, moreover, tired of the lies which kept on coming out of her mouth from time to time.

'_Liar.'_

Her lips curled down at the memory and her shoulders slumped.

Yes, she was a liar, wasn't she?

Not only to an innocent kid who actually believed she was an angel, before he found out the truth that was, but also to other people who actually cared and worried about her. But she didn't do anything wrong! She was just trying to save, or prolong Natsume's lifespan. Besides, by doing this, she would get stronger, and then she could help her friends in case if they were in trouble. She wouldn't get bullied and be a burden to other people.

"They seem to get along well there," Hotaru's voice interrupted her complex mind. "An idiot sure is best with another idiot."

Jacklyn snapped out of her own gloomy thoughts and directed her attention to the emotionless inventor, looking lost about the topic of the conversation. "Uh?"

With a steady gaze on her objects, Hotaru did a small jerk with her head to give the clueless girl a hint. It didn't take the black-haired girl more than a second to fix her stare on Hotaru's current interest. Indeed, Mikan and Jack were chatting and laughing merrily ahead of them, seeming to forget the other two silent girls' existences.

Jacklyn blinked. "Ah…Mikan sure is fast in getting along with other people, isn't she?"

"It's because she's an idiot," Hotaru responded indifferently.

"Hm…" The possessor of drawing alice released a small sigh, stealing a secret glance at the brunette for a second. That was until she felt her right wrist heat up.

…_Heat up?_

Her eyebrows creased at the realization. Her curiosity dragged her gaze to her right wrist, where she found the gem of bracelet Hirai gave her vaguely shining in an unnatural way, and, for some reason, she started to panic. "A…Ah! I forgot something!" Her other three companions turned their heads to her at her loud and sudden exclamation. "I'll go back for a while! You guys just go ahead!"

And she dashed off from the place without second glance.

But of course, Jacklyn didn't run back to the dormitory as what she had told her companions. In the middle of the way, she ran out of the track and went into the sea of trees on the side of the path. She ran deeper and deeper, until she was sure no one would find out whatever she would be doing later.

When she believed she was already secured, she glued her back to a bark and lifted up her right hand in front of her. The gem was still shining faintly and the heat hadn't gone. She gulped and then bent her head low enough to press her lips against the faultless surface of the gem. As she pulled her head back in the next second, a hologram screen appeared out of the empty air and Hirai's face showed up.

"Bad timing, Hirai-san," she grumbled, only to get a grin from the man in the screen. "Don't grin. It's not funny."

"_But it's exciting, isn't it?_"

Jacklyn scowled. "Which part of it?"

Hirai chuckled, only making her even more annoyed.

"What is it, Hirai-san? I believe you didn't try to burn my wrist just for this meaningless joke."

His lips curled into a mysterious smile and quickly changed into a serious thin line later. "_There's a mission for you._"

As the sentence was spoken, Jacklyn's eyes turned into surprised rounds. "You must be kidding! There's no way I will be absent from classes again after yesterday! People will start getting suspicious of me!" she countered. "Besides, Natsume is still under the hospital's care. Why would they send him to a mission when he's not well enough to do it? Or have you forgotten our deal, that I'll only be going to missions which only involved Natsume?"

"_Natsume __isn't__ in the hospital anymore._"

"Yeah, right, he's—WHAT?"

"_After I got the information about his next mission, I checked on him this morning, and it turned out that he's not in the room he should be resting in._"

"It couldn't be…"

"_And he's not in __the dorm __either._"

That shut her up for a moment, completely. "They…they might move him somewhere," she reasoned lamely. "Yeah, maybe they just moved him somewhere. There's no way the academy will force him doing missions when he's not in good condition for it, right?"

Hirai remained silent, which also drove her into a thoughtful stillness.

They could not be…the academy could not be this wicked. No matter how much she had heard of them working students behind the screen for various jobs, she still couldn't believe they would go this far as to be so ignorant about the students' condition. She trusted there was a limit to evilness.

But here, in front of her, Hirai revealed that malice could pass over the border of sympathy. The proof was Natsume who was forced into another mission before he could even recover from his previous wounds.

"_This world isn't as kind as you think it is, Little Angel._"

Jacklyn gulped.

"_There are many kind of such person, who only uses other people for their purpose. Deceit is not an exception._"

Jacklyn didn't miss the change in Hirai's look as the words seeped into her mind. She could see his eyebrow twitch and the grim line spread across his lips briefly. Those made her think if the man had experienced this kind of thing once. Seeing how older he was than her, she wondered how many terrible things he had tasted, whether it was physically or spiritually.

Came to think of it, she didn't know much about the man who had offered her his hand to stand up and be strong. She never questioned about his background. But somehow, after so much time they spent for secret practice, something about him made her put her trust on him entirely, without a doubt.

"_Are you dazing off?_"

His silky voice intruded her ears all of a sudden, startling her a bit. "I…I was thinking about what you had just said…" she mumbled, turning her face away from him.

Hirai's friendly chuckle resounded in the quiet air around her. "_Don't take it into your __head__._"

"I just couldn't pretend as if I've never heard of it," Jacklyn said and heaved a submissive sigh. "Fine."

"_Fine what?_"

"Fine. I'll take the mission."

Hirai smiled his usual smile. "_You're really an angel._"

She growled. "Am not."

Seriously, who was Hirai for real?

-x-

"So, today's absentees are Natsume-kun, Bourne-kun and…Jacklyn-chan again?" Narumi furrowed his eyebrows as he stared at the list of absence in his hand. "Is there anyone who knows why Jacklyn-chan is absent?" He looked up and found no one of his students raising their hand to answer his question, not even Mikan who he thought was quite close to the missing black-haired girl. "Mikan-chan?"

The said brunette shook her head. "She was with us when we're on our way to the academy, but she said she forgot something and headed back," said Mikan. "She didn't show up again after that. I thought she's just late…"

"Oh." The teacher sighed and lowered the list onto his desk. "Maybe she'll show up later." Clapping his hands to get the students' attentions, Narumi smiled and cheered, "Okay, let's start our classes today! Today, we will be learning about…"

The heavy atmosphere which almost engulfed the room a while ago vanished right away, replaced by a lighter feeling. The stillness was broken by small murmurs among the students as Narumi explained the lesson and gave brief details about the task he would assign to them later. Even so, the changing air didn't affect three certain students. One was staring at both empty seats with worry, the other was hiding his thought with his impassive eyes focused on the blackboard, and the rest was stealing a wary glance at Bourne's vacant desk.

All of them, though not saying anything, somehow knew something wrong was happening.

-x-

Swaying her legs on one of the branches of a wild tree, Jacklyn carefully watched the rundown five floors building not far from her current position in her complete disguise. Long black hair and ornamented silver mask. Yes, they should have been enough to cover her identity, just like usual.

It should have been enough…if only she didn't wear the Alice Academy uniform.

She had been really cautious since she started her mission, especially about her clothes. Just in case Natsume would find her stalking him or she would be forced to show herself up if the situation was not compromising, she paid an extra attention to the attire she wore so the fire caster wouldn't find out that she was in the same academy he went to. If he ever found out, she believed the lad wouldn't just be silent about this and eventually started to search for her. That, if Natsume was really curious about the mysterious girl who dared to interfere with his missions.

Sighing, Jacklyn gripped the hem of her skirt and gave it a peeved glance, inwardly blaming herself to be so careless this time for immediately heading to the destination without taking another look at her appearance. This way, she had to be extremely aware of her movement, making sure she would never show herself up this time and only helping from behind the screen.

It was not an easy work to do. And it was much more difficult to be done at day than night.

"That stupid boy better doesn't do anything unexpected anymore," she muttered under her breath, eyeing every window at the building hoping to catch a glimpse of her target. "I seriously will strangle him to death if he brings another trouble for me this time." Jacklyn hopped down the tree, deciding to find a closer and safer place to hide as well as watch her target. But firstly, she had to locate where her objective was.

Muttering a few incoherent words under her breath, definitely not a pleasing one, Jacklyn set off to the building, searching for the entrance. It was not as easy as she thought. All the visible entrances, whether they were on the front or the back of the building, were being watched over by guards. Each of them had two guards stood tall at either side of the door. Though it was expected, Jacklyn found it frustrating as she waited behind the lush bushes for a quite long time. The guards didn't budge, not even excusing themselves for a short break or bathroom business. To make it worse, her patience was wearing thin as minutes passed by.

_Be patient, be patient_, she reminded herself. All the while, her hands clasped tightly onto her knees and her shoulders went rigid with precaution as she watched with intense eyes, not wanting to miss even a single movement which might be able to give her the chance to sneak in.

The opportunity hardly came.

Fifteen minutes later, Jacklyn's tolerance almost reached its limit, her eyebrows furrowing in displeasure and her dull nails digging into her knees. Where was her chance? She had been hiding for a long time, yet she could not find any gap to slip in, not when both guards stayed alert to their surroundings. What were they? Robots?

"Don't kid with me," she murmured, her eyes narrowing dangerously in impatience. She grabbed the small note dangling in front of her chest and took out her fancy pencil. A smirk formed on her lips. "If the chance doesn't come, then I'll make one." Her hands moved smoothly on top of the empty paper, creating lines and combining various shapes into a solid form of thing she imagined inside her head.

When she was done, she gave a last examination at her new creation. Her lips stretched into a satisfied smile. Her right hand moved on top of the paper. When she pulled it back, an egg-shaped thing had been in her grasp. A mischievous glint sparked in her dark brown eyes. "Get prepared for a fog party, guys," she muttered and then threw her creation to the direction of the guards.

The mysterious shadow which jumped out of the bushes caught the securities' attention. Their guarding posture turned into a fighting stance, a few seconds before Jacklyn's newly made weapon hit the cemented ground with a loud 'thunk' sound, and they were caught off guard when the egg-shaped thing sprayed out a white mysterious fog as well as a hissing noise. "The fuck—?"

Jacklyn leapt out of her hideout at the cue. A winning smile graced her face as she closed her right hand over her nose and mouth and dove into the thick screen of fog. She turned slightly and bumped her shoulder to the hard surface of the entrance door, forcing it to open. When it did open, she stumbled inside and made a quick check to the new place she just entered, a few coughs escaping her lips.

"Intruder!"

_Crap_. The black haired girl dashed into a random direction to escape the recovering securities. She could waste no time. She would be in a big trouble if she wasn't hurry. Oh, she would, especially when her presence had been found out.

In her panic, Jacklyn took every turn she could find and quickly hid in the nearest empty room or seen closet when a guard came to her sight. One immense huff of sigh was spent every time she managed to save herself from being discovered. Lot of energy was wasted during the escaping. Still, she hadn't catch even a glimpse of her target's shadow, nor had she heard any ruckus about another intruder. If there was any, her pursuers expanded as she travelled deeper into the building. There was no clue about the raven-haired lad's whereabouts.

She was getting frustrated.

"There she is!"

_Oh, damn_.

Placing her hand upon her opened notebook, Jacklyn halted on her way and turned to her pursuers, a determination in her gesture. Her armed hand rose up, the mouth of the gun pointed to the chasers. Her forefinger closed over the trigger. Uttering no word, she released two shots. The expression of the hunters immediately changed to surprise. However, it was already too late to avoid it.

The bullets blew up and create a thick smoke before it reached the men, serving as Jacklyn's escaping curtain. The black-haired girl stepped back and turned around, running again to find a safe place to hide. Gosh, she didn't come to this place for a cat and mouse game. She came just to keep an eye on the fire caster!

"There's the intruder! Catch him!"

Alerted, Jacklyn stopped in her way and ran into the nearest closet. After securing the door, she pressed her back onto the cold iron surface and listened to the crowd outside, all the while trying to calm her tattered breathing. _Catch him?_ Jacklyn swallowed and then resumed to calm her breath. _Has Hyuuga been found out?_

Jacklyn peeked out through the small barred window on the closet door, hoping she could catch a glimpse of what actually happened seconds ago after she managed to escape the pursuers. She found nothing but her previous chasers who were running frantically to find her. She heaved a quiet sigh and closed her eyes to think, her brain replaying the running and shout which occurred just now.

Judging from the memories she grasped, it seemed that the shout came from the stairs at the end of the corridor, but she didn't dare to walk out of her current impermanent sanctuary. The option to keep on hiding and let the boy handle the situation himself was so tempting in her head at that time. But still, there was always something sitting in the corner of her heart, nudging her to forget the wicked thought and risk herself to…save the lad.

…

Damn him.

"…You're one heck of a troublesome guy, Hyuuga," she hissed, before opening the closet door and made a run to the stairs where she heard the yell. "And I'm so stupid to actually care about your being. Wait. It's my stupid mind that cares."

When she neared the stairs, Jacklyn gulped and held onto her created gun. Carefully, she set her foot on the lowest step and huffed in fortitude. _Here we go_. Her feet then moved hesitantly, climbing the stairs in wary.

BANG!

She startled and instinctively took one step down, stunned as she heard more awful noises from the above floor. There must be a really great battle happening up there, which included the walls and painful screams in it. She couldn't help shuddering a bit. The noises sounded so violent than the usual missions she went into.

She opened her notebook and took out more fog bombs, hoping it would help her this time as well as it had been in her first mission. "All right," she encouraged herself and moved her feet, not looking back anymore.

The first sight greeted her when she was only two steps from her destination was a man flying through the corridor. She was astounded then that she clutched on the railing on impulse. Curses almost coursed out of her mouth had she not quickly bitten her tongue to keep her lips shut. What a sight.

_Here goes nothing_. Jacklyn fixed her mask and took a deep breath, before dashing into the scene and threw one of the bombs to a random direction creating a thick fog in an instant. From here on, she could only rely on her instinct and senses, and her luck. Holding onto her mask, Jacklyn leapt into the emerging fog, opening one eye to find her target by figuring the height of the shadow she encountered. She could feel her side brushing against moving objects, probably the guards, but she tried to ignore them and concentrate on her own objective.

The fog almost cleared up when she sighted a shadow, which she assumed tall enough to be the size of a middle school student, a meter away from her. She quickened her pace, reaching her hand out to the arm of the figure, and swam out of the fog into the fresh air. It was so bright that she wanted to stop and got herself used to this new surrounding after being in the fog a few minutes ago, but she knew it wasn't the right time.

Her legs made their way forward, turning and stumbling as she tried to save both of her and the fire caster from the guards. They had to run and find a place to hide to think of a good plan to escape, just like before. "Closet…hidden room…closet…" were uttered from her lips as her head turned to the left and right frantically like it was going to fall off. "You're unusually silent, Black Cat," she stated without looking back, still leading them to a safer place.

A hard tug on her wrist stopped her from running all of a sudden she almost fell back. She was irritated that she could feel her insides were boiling. She was trying to bring them to a safe place and he had the nerve to stop her in the open unsecured corridor? He better had a good excuse for this. "Black Cat," she hissed. Her shoulders shook in anger before she turned to him abruptly. "What the hell do you think—"

"Nice to meet you, Little Angel."

She froze. Her jaw almost dropped to the floor when she got a clear view of the person she had dragged all the time.

The first apparent difference she noticed from the person was the color of his hair. Instead of the color of raven, it was blond. And it was also spiky on top of that, the exact contrast shape from Natsume's straight one. The second dissimilarity she caught was the color of his face. Natsume's face was way paler than his, considering his worsening health. Besides, the shape of the fire caster's face was way more round than—

"You look like you'll faint anytime soon."

His statement snapped her out of her deep inspection and she quickly let go off his hand. "Sorry. Wrong person," she muttered quickly before walking away. Her thoughts were in disarray. Shouldn't she only be in mission where Natsume went into? If Hirai told her to go to this place today, shouldn't it mean that the fire caster was also here? Then why the heck the one she dragged was the boy she met when she and Natsume were caught by AAO before?

Her step halted halfway when his large hand clasped around her wrist. Jacklyn gasped and glanced at him. Panic developed inside her. "Y-yeah?" she asked anxiously. The way his lips set in a grim line and his hand looping around her small wrist in a solid hold alarmed her.

"Who did you think I was?"

Now, that question was a bit hard to answer. She wondered if she should tell him the truth. "Eh…uh…"

"Is it Black Cat who you came for?"

Ouch. That surely hit right on the spot.

"Yes or no?" His stare was burning through her being.

"Uh…"

"There they are! Kisaki! Your alice!"

Jacklyn didn't know whether she should thank the guards for showing up right on time or curse them for the violent wind which assaulted the two of them without warning. It was a hard blow and she flew to the end of the corridor in no time. Her hands came up to protect her head on instinct and her body curled in defense.

_Damn_.

An agonizing yelp escaped her lips when her side hit the wall hardly. She was sure it would be really painful later. Opening her eyes, she found her breathing turning ragged from the sudden attack. Her side was throbbing from the collision and her strength left her all of a sudden. She felt like just laying down there and closing her eyes for a while to recuperate, but she knew it was not safe for her to let her guard down right now. It was the wrong time and place to be resting.

Jacklyn shook her head to keep her consciousness awake. The first thing she caught when she opened her eyes was a flash of bright light. It charged toward the guards and struck them in a smooth motion, undisturbed by anything the guards casted to its way.

She was astonished, at first, before she remembered the situation she was in and what she was about to do if only the guards hadn't caught up with them. Just on time, her right wrist warmed again; the same sensation she felt a few hours ago and the same reason for her existence in the enemy's nest.

Glancing at the battle ground from the corner of her eye, Jacklyn curled into a ball, pretending she was still recovering from the impact, and quickly kissed the glowing gem. Hirai's face immediately came into her view, strangely not in his kind and cheery expression. His look was serious and he seemed to be troubled by something she had yet to know. Despite her curiosity, Jacklyn still put on a displeased face and hissed, "Hirai-san, this is definitely not the right time to—"

"_Get out of there. Now._"

Dumbfounded. That must be what was written all over her face at that time because she noticed Hirai shaking his head in the next second. "Sorry?" She narrowed her eyes. "You say?"

"_Black Cat is not in this mission._" Hirai's lips were in a thin line. "_I've been misinformed._"

Jacklyn couldn't believe what she just heard. "What? But you have never been—"

A strong wind hit her again, even stronger than before. Jacklyn wrapped one arm around herself and inwardly prayed for the battle to be over soon, or for someone to come to pull her out of this situation. But that was most likely impossible.

"_Little Angel!_"

"I understand!" she cried out in frustration and hoisted herself up. With a strong bat of her right arm, Hirai's figure disappeared. With another swing of her left hand over her opened sketchbook, she took out the hairdryer-shaped weapon she ever used to confront Marika and pointed it toward the guard, who was once again using his Wind alice to their direction. She pulled the trigger and held onto the so-called weapon tightly when the wind was being sucked into its hole. Her new found partner registered the situation fast into his head and immediately sent a few bolts to the opponents, halting their movements as well as earning agonizing shouts from them.

_Now!_

Jacklyn took this chance to turn away and run from the battlefield, her eyes scanning the corridor in panic searching for a way out. She couldn't believe she was sent into a wrong mission. Hirai was never mistaken before. Not even once.

"Hey!"

She ignored the lad's shout and kept running, only to get surprised when a few guards showed up from the opposite direction of hers.

_Crap._

Her mind changed as fast as she made a sharp turn toward the nearest window. Her arms were crossed in front of her face as she jumped and broke the fragile glasses, evading her pursuers.

The only thing that prevented her from feeling relief was the law of gravitation. The latest dread had made her forgotten that she just jumped out of the fifth floor of the old construction, but the hard pull to the ground under her jogged her memory again.

"You must be kidding me!" was her desperate shout as she closed her eyes, bracing herself for the upcoming impact.

This time, she was done for.

-To be continued-


	30. 30th Piece: To Trust

**Such a long three months and this Piece is finally done. I want to tear out my hair.**

**Kidding.**

**Thank you to those who have been patiently waiting for me to update this story. Two long years and I still haven't finished with it.**

**Damn. I want to cry.**

**Anyway, let's stop this pointless rambling and just move on to the story.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Gakuen Alice and its characters. Bourne Severity belongs to Ryuamakusa4eva.**

**-x-**

**Small Pieces of You**

**-x-**

**30th Piece: To Trust**

_This is not good._

Jacklyn's heart was beating fast, pushing hard against her rib cage, threatening to jump out of her chest anytime. The force on her back was getting harder each second as the distance between her and the ground shortened. The air pressure started to deafen her hearing and all she could took notice of was the loud shrilling whoosh of wind.

She forced her brain to work, despite the shock and fear she was feeling at that moment. She didn't have much time to grieve over the bad luck she had that day. That could be done after she was safe from this situation.

If she's still alive that was.

Goodness, she needed wings at that time.

_Wings._

Jacklyn opened her eyes immediately, a gasp escaping her lips as the thought hit her like cold water. Why hadn't she thought of it before?

Grasping blindly around her neck and chest, Jacklyn bit the inside of her cheek, annoyed with the wild swaying of her hair that compelled her to close her eyes again. Her fingers searched frantically for the notebook Hirai gave her, and she couldn't stop getting even more panicked when the digits failed to catch the flying notebook.

"Yes!" the possessor of the drawing alice wheezed when the thing she had been searching for was finally in her hold. Opening one of her eyes, she quickly turned over the pages with only one intention in her head. She was, undoubtedly, frustrated when she didn't spot the picture she needed while the ground was getting nearer and nearer. Adding to her aggravation, the notebook slipped off her grasp out of her panic.

_Damn it!_

She shut her eyes instinctively when she was sure she couldn't make it. No one would be able to stay alive after jumping down from the fifth floor. It was unquestionably impossible, unless she was immortal.

This was the end.

Just when she thought she was waiting for Death to claim her, a high pressure of wind rammed her back, causing her to gasp loudly in surprise. Her eyes snapped open once again and she found herself floating in the air and descending slowly. No, it was more like the speed of the fall was slowing down.

"What the—" Jacklyn frantically looked around. Above, from the window she jumped out of, she could see the guard's head sticking out, his jaw slightly dropping, probably from the unusual sight she was performing. Heck, it wasn't even her doing. Looking down, she found she had been nearing the earth. A wave of relief surged inside her when her brain comprehended the fact that she wouldn't be seeing Death soon.

But the floating magic that had been casted upon her had to disappear all of a sudden when she was just only one floor height from the ground. The gravity pulled her down once more with force, and she couldn't help but releasing a terrified scream as she dropped. "THE HELL—!"

"Oof! Got you, Little Angel."

Jacklyn blinked twice, thrice, as she took in her surrounding and found out she was still breathing, hardly, and the fact that she was not in Death's arms, but the man who was her so-called tutor. "…Hi-Hirai-san?" she managed to stutter. A small tear slid down her cheek from the unvoiced relief. "W-why are you here?"

"Need to watch over a certain junior," he quipped. "The advantage of having wind alice."

Through the mask that covered a half of her face, Jacklyn saw his lips curl into a smile. He lowered his body a bit and put her down to her feet, one hand on her arm to balance her shaky stance while the other wiped the lone trail of tear from her cheek. "I would never let any danger come upon my dear apprentice," he said, his head rising to stare at the window she just jumped out of. The guard was still there, with a surprised look on his face. But as soon as he caught Hirai staring at him, he looked panicked and quickly drew his head from the windowpane, disappearing from her and Hirai's sight.

Jacklyn raised an eyebrow of wonder at the odd reaction the guard gave, but then shrugged it off as she thought it was just because he had gotten over his shock. The reason of why she had to jump out of there a few minutes ago suddenly crossed her head and, with an irritated face, she turned to Hirai and asked, "What was that about? You called me all of a sudden in the middle of the battle of life and death and told me that Natsume wasn't in this mission."

Hirai looked down, and all he did was just stare at her, which annoyed her even more. If it wasn't because of the damn mask on his face, she would have been able to know whether he felt guilty or otherwise. But after receiving no reply from him seconds later, Jacklyn rolled her eyes and scowled, convinced that the man wouldn't leak even a single reason of his failure.

Slowly, the corners of his lips lifted and his hand rose to her head ruffling her hair messy. "It's a mistake that I make sure will never happen again." He drew back his hand before Jacklyn could swat it away. "Besides, every mission always has its own threats waiting for you. You should have been more prepared for that."

"I understand that well," Jacklyn defended, her lower lip jutting out in frustration.

Hirai smiled at her sideways before turning and walking away, beckoning her to follow him. "Let's go. There's no use to be here any longer."

She gave a low hum and trotted after him, stealing one last glance at the building behind her. Her mind drifted to a certain boy left inside there, wondering if he was able to escape from the guards, and then she shook her head to drive the thought away and followed Hirai again.

Nevertheless, his words bugged her.

'_Is it Black Cat who you came for?'_

Her eyebrows furrowed.

_How did he know? Who is he anyway?_

-x-

The third period had just ended when Jacklyn successfully snuck back into the academy and blended in the crowd of hungry students going to the cafeteria. The accessories she wore for missions were safely kept in her bag, and she hoped nothing would happen causing those things to fall out. It's fine if people who saw it thought they're just things she bought from Central Town for fun. But if a certain person – like Natsume – spotted them, then she would have a hard time making up stories of why the odd accessories he seemed to recognize were in her possession.

Walking through the corridor, Jacklyn busied her hands by running them through her hair to neat them after remembering how hectic the situation she had been in the previous mission. She was pretty much relieved she saw no familiar face anywhere near her on the journey to her destination. Therefore, she didn't feel the need to make up excuses for her absence in the morning classes.

But she had to eventually.

Jacklyn sighed and couldn't hide the frown on her face when she was aware she had to lie again. It's not like she never told a lie before she entered the Alice Academy. She had done it, countless times, and all of them were white lies, she believed. But ever since the young boy pointed it out in front of her face and showed such hurt expression, she started to feel guilty for covering the truth.

No. She shouldn't be affected by that.

But damn, his word stabbed her hard.

"It's all messed up," she murmured, rubbing one hand over her face.

"Jacklyn…" A sudden tap on her shoulder made her jolt out of surprise, washing her deep thoughts away. Turning her head to the suspect beside her, she found Koko smiled at her hesitantly as he retracted his hand back to his side. "Sorry, did I surprise you?" he apologized.

Jacklyn heaved a sigh of relief and placed one hand on her chest trying to calm her fast beating heart. "It's all right," she laughed lightly. "I was thinking of something anyway."

"Hm…" Koko smiled and pointed to the corner not far from the spot they were standing. "Can we talk for a while?"

Nodding, Jacklyn followed Koko to the end of the corridor and stood near a window, before leaning her weight on her right leg and asked, "So, what's up?"

Upon hearing the question, Koko glanced away and started fidgeting uncomfortably. Jacklyn raised an eyebrow at this unusual sight and waited patiently to what he had to say. "Uhm…it's…" The boy groaned and then looked at her with an unreadable stare, causing Jacklyn to lift both eyebrows. "Jacklyn, I don't mean to accuse you for anything, but…do you…happen to hide something…?"

His question surprised the holder of the drawing alice, which could be seen from her widening eyes. "Wh-what makes you think so?" she hastily blurted out and almost winced at how quick she reacted to his query.

Koko didn't seem to realize it and moved on. "Honestly, I can't read your mind anymore," he spoke lowly, but loud enough for both of them to hear. "Your head is always empty, right now. It no longer projects what you're thinking to me ever since we met again after you're out of the hospital." Jacklyn furrowed her eyebrows. "After you saved Mikan from the fan girls," he added, apprehending her confused expression.

Jacklyn's face lit up as comprehension dawned upon her. How could she forget the day? It was the beginning of the current path she took, training under Hirai and being Natsume's stalker in every mission he was in. "…I never projected my thoughts to you," she diverted the topic. "You read them without my consent."

Koko made a nervous laugh. "I accidentally heard them."

Jacklyn rolled her eyes. "You'll get a headache if you can't control that alice of yours."

"The doctor had told me about it before."

"Then do something with it."

"But I hate to wear alice-controlling devices."

"Wearing what?" Jacklyn asked, one of her eyebrows raising in curiosity.

"Alice-controlling devices," Koko repeated. "They are items to suppress the power of your alice so you can use and control them without having to be afraid they will go wild. Usually they're in the shapes of daily accessories, such as rings, necklaces, chokers, earrings, armbands, bracelets, and many more."

"Do we need them?"

"Some people do. Some people have to," Koko confirmed. "You see, Natsume has non-identical earrings on both of his ears. They're his alice-controlling devices, just so his alice won't be out of control."

Jacklyn muttered a small 'oh' and then went silent. She realized she never clearly paid attention to Natsume, except for his outstanding crimson eyes and, according to her, nasty attitudes. She never knew the lad wore earrings, which were actually devices to control his fire alice. But then again, if he wore those things, did that mean his power was far more dangerous than she thought?

"Is Natsume's alice that dangerous?" she questioned uncertainly. Jacklyn didn't miss a frown that formed slightly across the mind reader's face when she looked up to him, though the frown was quickly being replaced by a plain expression when the related subject was conscious of the attention she gave toward him.

"Generally, fire is dangerous," Koko stated matter-of-factly. "Natsume's is no different. The controlling devices are to keep his power under control, meaning to prevent his alice from taking his life-span in large scale every time he uses it. They are to slower his death."

But he would die sooner or later, if he kept on using his alice, if the academy high-ups continued sending him into missions that required him to use the hazardous power.

"Your eyebrows are creasing."

Jacklyn blinked and her focus was once again back to Koko, who had a small smile on his face. Disappointed or sad, she couldn't interpret it.

"Maybe I was just overreacted," he said then, cackling to break the uncomfortable atmosphere. "Perhaps you also have nullification alice like Mikan, or barrier alice. I will say it's nullification though, since even Narumi sensei's alice also didn't work on you."

The black-haired girl pressed her lips together to repress a gasp from escaping her throat and drew a deep breath instead. So her worry all this time came out to be true. The teacher she was quite fond of actually used his pheromone alice on her, possibly trying to get the truth out of her after Koko reported he couldn't read her mind.

No, she didn't feel betrayed. Somehow, she knew the teacher would use his alice without her knowing. Though she appeared to be ignorant, deep down, she was aware of the suspicion she had gotten from the people around her. One day, she was sure, this secret she tried to keep would reveal by itself as time passed.

But not now.

"Perhaps," Jacklyn agreed with the dirty-blonde haired boy, managing a grin to show to cease his doubt. "I think I'll find out later about this new alice of mine, if it's for real."

Yes, not now.

The time when all the walls she built to hide the secret crumbled down would come in the end, but it definitely wouldn't be today. As of now, she might as well enjoy her peaceful time she could get, because she was sure it would be a ruckus if the teachers found out.

Koko returned her smile and scratched the back of his neck. "Ah, I feel a bit better after talking about this to you. It had been nagging me a lot. I was afraid I would get bald if it kept going on."

Jacklyn patted his shoulder and faked sympathy. "Geez, you could have talked to me soon than let it bother you. I would feel guilty if something bad happened to you just because of this thing," she tried to joke, but her chest constricted in some way, contradicting the words uttered from her very own mouth. "Anyway," she appended, "we will miss lunch if we're going to stay here longer."

"You're right." Koko grinned cheekily, and Jacklyn couldn't help feeling relief seeing he was back to his usual self again. "Let's go then. You won't want to be late since the next period is JinJin."

Jacklyn groaned.

-x-

Lunch.

It used to be the most thrilling times in his schedule, well, for the past two months. Now, looking at the extensive green field outside the class, he contemplated on how stupid he had been back then. Ever since the truth was lain out in front of him, he couldn't stop blaming himself for being so dense, so believing.

What was he? A four year old?

Youichi made a snort and pushed his chair back, making a loud creaking sound which drew the attentions from the remaining students in the class. Shoving his hands into his pockets, he stalked toward the door and rudely pushed it open. He stepped into the corridor and joined the passing students to the direction of the main hall.

Every student who made contact with his eyes quickly stepped out of his way, not wanting to get his wrath just because he was in a bad mood. How could they read him? It was because his eyes were a bit red from lack of sleeping.

And damn, all of it was caused by a certain girl he even barely talked to in the first place.

Running one hand through his gray hair, Youichi huffed in frustration and continued glaring at whoever came to his sight. He didn't understand why he had to be so worked up just because of the fake angel who had tricked him for two freaking months. Then again, there was also another thing that kept his eyes open last night. Long after he went back to his own room, lay on his bed, and contemplated on what had just happened that afternoon, he realized one thing that came out following the feeling of betrayal.

It was guilt.

He freaking felt guilty for shouting at her and running away, not even bothering to hear her explanation. But why would he be bothered about that? She was the one who wasn't being honest with him after all.

Stepping on the pavement outside the elementary building, Youichi closed his eyes and inhaled, welcoming the sun rays bathing his figure and the fresh air tickling his nose. It refreshed his mind somehow, dismissing everything that burdened him at that time even though just for a bit. He sighed and moved his feet, letting them lead him to a place he didn't expect to visit soon.

But there he was anyway, under the Sakura tree his so-called brother often hanged out at, the tree he diligently visited for the last two months, and the place where he found out the real identity of the fake angel.

"Damn you, treacherous feet," he grumbled under his breath and glared at his feet. "Why did you take me here anyway? Do you want me to dislocate you?" Noticing he was talking to no one, his feet on top of it, Youichi rolled his eyes and landed his forehead on the bark of the tree. "Great, now I'm being crazy."

"Youichi?"

The mentioned boy looked up and found a certain raven-haired lad walked toward his way. Straightening his figure, he gave the older male a tiny smile. "Nii-chan…"

Natsume noticed his cheerless smile. "What's wrong?"

Youichi shook his head. "No, nothing," he muttered and drew his gaze back to the base of the tree, as if he was expecting something there.

Being observant he was, the raven-haired lad perceived the different atmosphere Youichi was emitting and curiously followed the boy's gaze to the grass in front of the tree. Almost immediately, he was reminded of Youichi's words, which seemed to be a long time ago, about Miss Angel's promise to give the little boy a white feather at lunchtime. "Waiting for your feather?" he questioned.

Youichi grimaced and looked away. "No. There will be no more feathers from today on."

Natsume arched an eyebrow. "Why so?"

"She's nothing but a liar."

"Why are you so sure?"

"She…" Youichi paused and wriggled his fingers. "Just because."

"…Are you hiding something?"

The young boy pressed his lips together and refused to look at Natsume.

"Youichi…"

"It doesn't matter now, does it?" Youichi snapped and slumped down to the grass, his back against the bark of the tree. "From the beginning, it's all a mistake. I shouldn't have believed her, I shouldn't have been so excited about it, and I shouldn't have wasted my lunchtime running up here just to retrieve a single feather that would vanish the next day. I feel like a fool!"

Natsume stared down at the furious boy, wondering what had gotten into him. He had never seen this side of Youichi's before, angry at something the fire caster didn't know. Whatever the matter was, it must have hurt him that he looked so depressed.

Opting to be silent for a while, giving Youichi time to calm down his ragged breathing from ranting and impulsive rage, Natsume took a seat beside him and gazed far to the horizon, one knee up to support his arm. The quiet hum of breeze passed through his ears, urging him to close his eyes and just enjoy the peace of nature.

The stillness seemed to affect Youichi as well, as his breathing calmed down after a while and he, too, joined the older male staring at the green view before him.

"Ready to tell?"

The gray-haired boy sighed. "Do you remember about the angel I told you before?"

Natsume glanced at him from the corner of the eye. "What about her?"

"She's not a real angel," Youichi grumbled, his eyebrows bending down in irritation to be reminded of the reason of his unusual behavior.

"How do you know?"

"Things…happened."

The fire caster raised an eyebrow. "Right."

Youichi scowled and buried his head in his hands.

"It's all right. Just take your time," Natsume cheered him up while patting the younger boy's head brotherly.

Youichi stayed still, deep in thought. Reliving yesterday's event in his head again, he reflected on his reaction when he found out the angel's real identity. He noted he had been a bit overreacted, but he couldn't help feeling hurt in his chest when he realized he had been fooled all this time. No matter how many times he remembered the upsetting moment, the feelings of betrayal gave no less impact on him. It still pained him and never failed to arouse his fury.

Then there was the faint guilt, which he hated to acknowledge when he witnessed her vulnerable state after being found out. She tried to explain, but he didn't bother to hear it, not wanting to hear the excuse she had to defend herself to the point of duping him and everyone. He still didn't want to know her reason for hiding behind her angel mask, but there were times in between his hate in which he wondered why she had to do that.

Youichi growled. Oh no, he didn't sympathize with her just now, did he?

"Youichi."

"What?" he rumbled, not bothering to lift his head.

"That."

Only when the single word reached his ear did he lift his head, tickled by the curiosity in Natsume's deep voice. Above him, descending down to the spot he was sitting on was a white pigeon. With a gentle purr, the tame animal landed on his still left knee and took a few small jumps to his thigh. Its head tilted, as if it was wondering, and Youichi let his lips spread into a wide smile at that innocent gesture.

Bending forward, Youichi lifted his left hand. The bird flew from his knee and perched on his lower arm. Its beady eyes blinked, filled with innocence. "Where did you come from?" he asked and caressed the bird's small head with his forefinger, feeling somehow satisfied when the bird leaned into his touch.

"…This bird seems familiar," Natsume butted in, drawing Youichi's attention.

"Whose?"

The fire caster creased his eyebrows, trying to remember. He was sure he ever saw the bird somewhere, but the memory was fuzzy. Then again, maybe he was just imagining. Pigeon was a quite common kind of bird that could be seen everywhere, and he might just happen to see this one somewhere in his recollection. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Natsume shrugged. "Can't remember. Perhaps they are just similar. White pigeons are quite common anyway."

But still, there was something about the bird that nudged his interest. Something that made it different from other pigeons. Only, he couldn't spell out what it was. Natsume pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, working his brain once again to find out what was bugging him.

The gray haired boy blinked upon seeing the older boy lost in his thought. He averted his gaze from Natsume to the bird and smiled when he saw it stare back at him, but, soon, his eyes caught something attached to the bird's right leg.

A small rolled paper.

Youichi reached for the paper and untied it from the pigeon's leg. He quickly unrolled the paper. His hands tensed when he studied the words scribbled in blue ink.

_Never intend to fool you. Sorry._

Youichi bit his lip and turned his head away, the paper crumpled in his hand. Far to the west from the place he was sitting now, he could see the outline of the junior high school building; the place he hadn't visited since yesterday because he wasn't ready to meet her yet. He didn't know how he should act in front of her. It would be better if he could disregard her, but it would need a great effort.

He didn't have it.

Not yet.

-x-

"It's clear blue today."

"Hm."

"Do you think it will rain later?"

A shrug.

"Come on! Let's make a bet!"

A grumble. "No. It sounds stupid."

"You're no fun. Still having a small dose of teenage angst in your system?"

Jacklyn growled and turned to glare at her fretful companion. The serenity she got only a few minutes ago was completely gone with the wind blowing past the rooftop where she was now. "What are you doing here anyway?"

Standing beside her, Jack blinked innocently and tilted his head. His lips then curled into a perfect grin. "To accompany my lonely creator," he replied honestly and leaned his back on the railing.

"Really," Jacklyn muttered, unconvinced. "Why do I have an idea that you want to wind me up instead?"

Jack threw his head back and laughed heartily. "That's really a cruel assumption, Jacklyn."

"If you don't want me to assume like that, you will do it right by shutting your mouth up and just, urgh, be quiet."

"I do. When you talk."

"Not only when I talk," the black haired girl rumbled in frustration. "Right now, I really need some peace. I need to sort things out. I need to fix my head. And I definitely don't need a stupid creation that can't stop babbling even for a while beside me."

That's right. She had dashed to the rooftop right after finishing her lunch, hoping to spend a few minutes left of lunchtime in tranquility. She sent a pigeon to Youichi once she arrived at the place and, though a genuine pigeon generally needed to know the place to send a letter, she hoped this pigeon of hers could recognize Youichi so it could bring the apology letter directly to the boy. An indirect sorry was better than nothing.

But was that enough for him to forgive her?

Jacklyn shook her head and leaned her chin on the cool surface of the iron balustrade, a submissive sigh coming out from her later. She felt exhausted, fed up with the endless problem dropped upon her. Not to mention she had skipped three periods today just to do a wrong mission that almost cost her life.

"What's with the long face?" Jack ruffled her hair, drawing her attention back to him.

"Nothing," she murmured and closed her eyes. "I'm just a bit tired."

"Really?" Jack put on an unconvinced look and bent his head down to her level. "Where were you this morning, creator?"

Jacklyn's eyes snapped open in surprise, the fatigue she felt before dissolving at the same time. She focused her gaze on her creation and the way he stared back at her almost made her heart jump out of her ribcage. "I…forgot something and went back to the dormitory…?"

Jack raised one eyebrow. "Did you?"

She nodded slowly.

"Took me three periods to see you."

Jacklyn's whole body tense. He knew she was lying. She couldn't let him know. She had to cover it up with another lie. But what?

"I couldn't help it. I had a stomachache all of a sudden," she blurted out and turned away, refusing to let her expression betray her.

"You're not lying?"

Jacklyn gulped. Her heart was beating fast, yet aching at the same time. Her voice wanted to leak out the truth immediately to him, so she wouldn't feel even more burdened. But she had promised not to tell anyone.

It was a secret.

"No. Why would I?" she murmured. "Besides, you couldn't be expecting me to concentrate in the class while I was unwell, could you? It's better to treat it before it's too late."

There was no response from her companion for a while, which made her even more alerted. _Please just believe it_, she prayed inwardly. Her fingers clutched her skirt tautly as she waited for the expected answer.

However, Jack was all but silent.

Jacklyn risked a glance at him, in which she regretted later. Guilt struck her when she spotted unspoken grief in his smile. He still said nothing, but he moved his hand on top of her head and ruffled her hair gently.

"Jack—"

He cut her off with his charming grin and said, "I'm glad you're all right now."

It only worsened her remorse.

Pushing the guilt far into the back of her mind, Jacklyn turned her gaze to the green field under them and forced a small smile. "Yeah," was all she said before the silence came down upon them once more and the warm breeze blew away all of the remaining unsaid words between them.

Jacklyn moved her hand on top of her head and gripped his large one. She then squeezed it gently, trying to convey the words she wasn't able to voice out. Jack squeezed her hand in return instead of pulling back. At that moment, Jacklyn knew her words reached him thought it wasn't told.

She would tell him whenever she was ready, and he would wait patiently for it.

She just didn't know when.

She had walked the path too far.

Now, she didn't know how to go back.

-x-

"Jacklyn, is it true that Jack is your creation that came alive?" Mikan whispered to Jacklyn that night when they were having dinner.

Not expecting to hear the question come out of the brunette's mouth, Jacklyn froze and almost dropped her spoon. For a moment, her tongue was tied and words left her as she stared shockingly at Mikan, who looked at her in anticipation for an answer.

"How—"

"Jack told me himself," Mikan said, pushing another spoon full of rice into her mouth and chewing the food. "It has been a few days ago though. I wanted to confirm it to you at that time, but you looked extremely tired. I didn't want to disturb you."

"Ah…" Jacklyn gnawed at her teriyaki.

The brunette swallowed her food before speaking again, "You won't deny it?"

Jacklyn shook her head and smiled a bit. "He said the truth."

Mikan's mouth formed a big 'o' in admiration. "Your alice is that great?"

"No," Jacklyn denied and put down her bowl. "Actually, I also didn't expect such thing could happen, even until now. No creation of mine could last longer than twenty four hours. He's, like, a special case."

"You don't try doing it again?"

She gave the brunette a dismissive wave of her hand. "Jack told me not to. He said I could die if I try again, since I fainted after accidentally using my power on his picture. It seems like his case is also just a coincidence."

"Right." Mikan frowned. "Don't do it anymore then. I don't want something happen to you."

Jacklyn smiled. "I won't." She wouldn't do it, because she didn't have any reason to try it again, for now. She didn't even think to try it before because the thought never crossed her mind. There were many things occupied her head these days; too many they were she couldn't keep track of them anymore.

Looking around the rowdy cafeteria, Jacklyn just noticed something was missing ever since she entered the place. Usually she would be sitting down with Mikan and Hotaru, with Ruka and Natsume close to their table. But today, there were just she and Mikan eating together. Hotaru, Ruka, and Natsume were nowhere to be seen.

'_Natsume isn't in the hospital anymore.'_

That was what Hirai said when he told her to go on a mission this morning. She had thought the fire caster was really being sent into the mission, but it turned out that Hirai was misinformed.

How could that be? Hirai getting wrong information was a rare case. This was the first time it happened. Then again, where did Hirai get such information? Judging by the alice he had, he wasn't an ordinary people. That was for sure. He didn't look like he was one of the teachers in Alice Academy either.

Jacklyn wanted to ask, but she hesitated. A part of her always questioned about Hirai's background and demanded an answer to it, but another part of her held her from asking anything when she was face to face with the person himself, somehow convincing her it would be better if some things were left untold. But was that a good decision?

She heaved a heavy sigh and ruffled her hair. She had been asking herself about this since forever until her head hurt, and yet she refused to use the direct way to clear the problem she created on her own. If only she could be more honest and open, this should have been an easy thing to do.

_Hirai-san, who are you?_

It was that easy, wasn't it?

"Are you okay, Jacklyn?"

Jacklyn dragged her gaze back to Mikan and nodded. "Yeah. Just have some things in mind. Nothing serious though." She fell silent, stared at the empty seat beside the brunette and was reminded of her question about the three persons' whereabouts.

Natsume wasn't in the hospital anymore, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be somewhere else inside the Alice Academy. Besides, he wasn't the type of people who liked to be told what he should do and where he should go. Perhaps he was in his room. Ruka was his best friend, so he was probably with Natsume now. But Hotaru?

"Where is Hotaru?" she asked with pure curiosity.

Mikan shrugged. "I don't know. She said she had something to do this afternoon and disappeared just like that. I haven't seen her since then," she said, a frown etched on her face. "I wonder if I have done something wrong to her?"

"I don't think so," Jacklyn commented, taking a sip of her water. "Perhaps she really has something she needs to do."

The brunette pondered and inclined her head in agreement. "Yeah, you're right. Hotaru is always busy with her inventions."

Jacklyn gave Mikan a small smile and secretly glanced around the room once more. Her creation, Jack, was also nowhere to be seen. After what he had said to her this noon about not seeing her for hours, now he was the one who was peculiarly gone without any sign. Usually, he would bug her, especially since there were empty seats at the table she and Mikan occupied tonight.

Then again, why should she care? Wasn't it far better if she didn't have to hear him babbling unnecessary thing when she already had so many things in her head?

But something was throbbing in her chest. It wasn't painful, but it made her restless. Somehow, she wanted to see him right now, contrary to the feeling she felt this noon when he came disturbing her peace.

_Where is that guy anyway?_

The heat in her right wrist brought her back from her reverie. Looking down at the gem, she noticed it was shining, in the same way it did this morning. She excused herself and walked out of the cafeteria, then took a turn to the right until she arrived in front of the cleaning room. After making sure no one was wandering in the place, she opened the door and stepped in.

It was dark inside the room, but Jacklyn found it wasn't necessary to turn on the light. She lifted her right wrist near her lips and kissed the gem. A hologram screen immediately emerged in front of her, the dim light from the display illuminating her face.

"_Hello, Little Angel_," he greeted her with a smile as usual.

Jacklyn nodded in return and asked, "What's wrong?"

"_I just want to inform you that our meeting tonight will be cancelled. Something urgent comes up and I need to settle it_."

"Okay." Jacklyn quieted for a while. "Have you found out where Natsume is?"

Hirai chuckled. "_You won't let go of that matter, will you?_"

"Like heck I will," she grouched. "I was halfway to heaven because of that."

Hirai's laugh rang in the quiet room, too cheery to her like, which only made her feel grumpy even more. Deepening her frown, Jacklyn glanced away from the screen and muttered a few soft curses, not really caring whether the man could hear it or not.

"_No, we haven't found out where he is_," Hirai stated after he finished laughing. "_It's strange though. Perhaps he's being kept somewhere that we can't reach. I'm sure he's still in the Alice Academy._"

"Oh," Jacklyn murmured quietly. We, he had said. It meant he didn't work by himself. There was another companion of his who also gathered information about the mission Natsume was sent into. Did that mean he might be from an organization who worked to protect the alice users in their missions?

Now that she thought about it. She realized every man she had fought was wearing the same uniform. Black suit and wearing black glasses. She wondered if the buildings she had broken into were owned by the same unknown organization. Then there was also this one time when she and Natsume were captured on their way out. A red-haired guy said something about entering the AAO's base.

"_Little Angel?_"

"Hirai-san, what is AAO?" she intercepted. "I realized that in every mission Natsume was sent into, we always fought the guys with the same uniform. When I was captured once in their base, a guy with red hair mentioned something about sneaking into the AAO's base."

Hirai didn't say anything for a moment. He was on the screen, but Jacklyn couldn't tell whether his eyes were on her or not for his mask was on the way. However, she was sure the man knew something from the abrupt silence she got after the question was out of her lips.

"_It stands for Anti Alice Organization,_" Hirai answered at last. "_They, you could say, are the opponent of Alice Academy._"

"Why the academy has to send their students to sneak into the AAO's quarters?"

"_Getting disks, files, and some important data that might be useful to the academy. For the academy, the organization is an enemy they should be aware of. They wouldn't want to have one of their precious students being taken from them. Sometimes the academy sends the Dangerous Ability class students to get rid of a number of AAO's men just to assure their safety._"

"What do AAO do that the academy has to do that?"

"_AAO doesn't agree with the way academy manipulating the students with alices for their own advantages. Where do you think the money for the school's welfare came from? They're cooperating with huge companies, organizations, and even the government and send the students to work there in the future. No one ever complains to this since the students' future are also assured, and so are the academy's future._"

The tone Hirai used when he talked surprised Jacklyn a little. It sounded cold and disdaining, almost as if there was an invisible hatred lied beneath those words. She wondered if Hirai actually hated the academy but couldn't do anything in front of the enormous power the academy had, which was why he chose to protect the students this way. Even so, this kind of thing wouldn't change anything, would it? It was just like making sure the students could come back safely from the mission and the same thing would repeat again the other time. If Hirai really wanted this situation to change, then wouldn't it have been better if he joined AAO and took down the academy?

Wait.

Why did she suddenly think Alice Academy was the bad man and the AAO was the good one? She even thought it was a better idea if Hirai went to the AAO's side and attacked the academy. Besides, a nurse ever told her something about Natsume being kidnapped by the AAO. Didn't that mean the AAO was the bad guy?

Jacklyn furrowed her eyebrows and pursed her lips. Her head was in a mess from all the thinking she had done. Who was right? Who was wrong? The answer was unclear all of a sudden, obscured by Hirai's statements just now. Somehow, she thought it was better if she never asked too much. It would be simpler if she knew she just needed to make sure Natsume was safe in every mission he did.

"_Don't think about it too much,_" Hirai's voice managed to get Jacklyn to focus her eyes back to him. He smiled when he finally got her attention. "_You just need to focus on your task. I will take care of the rest._"

She nodded.

"_Well then—_"

"Hirai-san!" Jacklyn's voice betrayed her before she could stop it. When she realized what she just did, she quickly covered her mouth. But it was far too late.

"_Yes?_" Hirai inquired calmly.

Jacklyn glanced down silently, deep in her thought.

Hirai tilted his head in confusion. "_Little Angel?_"

When she looked up a few moments later, she stared at him with firm determination in her eyes. "I trust you."

He smiled again. It wasn't a secretive or teasing kind of smile, but a warm and reassuring one that made her feel at ease. "_I know._"

"Then…good night…"

"_Good night to you too, Little Angel._"

Only after the screen was gone Jacklyn allowed herself to exhale a relief sigh. She gazed at the bracelet quietly and touched it to the bridge of her nose. She didn't know if it's a good decision to believe Hirai, but, for now, that was what she felt. Perhaps she was just confused. Perhaps she just wanted to assure herself and stopped the bewilderment and doubt she felt, but that was what she wanted to convey to him.

She just hoped he didn't betray that trust.

-x-

"The diskettes and CDs contain nothing."

Bourne opened his eyes and looked up to the Dangerous Ability class teacher. Persona dumped the diskettes and CDs Bourne had brought back from this morning's mission on the table, a loud clanking noise resounding in the dark class room immediately.

Bourne eyed the disorganized CDs and diskettes in front of him without interest, and then stopped the music which was currently playing in his i-pod. "Pardon?"

Persona sighed and sat down across him. His left hand reached out for Bourne's right ear and unplugged the earphone before he repeated, "The diskettes and CDs contain nothing."

Bourne's eyebrows creased in bewilderment and annoyance. "Are you sure?"

"A hundred percent," Persona confirmed. "We've checked it a few times. No satisfying result."

Sighing, the blonde haired lad took off the other earphone from his left ear and shoved his i-pod into his pocket. "Why did you send me to the place again?"

"Because we got information that the files which have the list of the targeted students were kept there."

"You have never been misinformed before."

Persona shook his head. "I also don't understand, but…" He leaned his chin on his knuckle, staring at Bourne meaningfully. "This is just my opinion, but I think the AAO set it up to trick us."

"Which explained why the guards were only being placed at the entrance and the corridors," Bourne added. "They had planned to catch anyone who was being sent by the academy to get the bogus files."

Persona smiled. "As expected from you to be able to grasp what I meant."

Bourne brought one hand up to his chin, shifting into a thinking pose. His eyes were once again on the diskettes and CDs on the desk, while his thought flew back to the time when he did the mission this morning.

It wasn't hard for him to sneak into the building, since he got a good timing to break in when both guards at the entrance were distracted. The corridor also had lesser guards when he entered, but the security tightened the moment he retrieved the file and attempted to get out. It just had been his bad luck and carelessness to be found out when he was trying to get away from the room quietly, which resulted in unnecessary battles he had to settle.

And then, the black-haired girl had to butt in.

Natsume ever said that the girl always showed up in the mission he was in. Little Angel had never been in Bourne's mission even once ever since he did missions for the academy, at least until today when he had to replace Natsume in the mission. Could it really be just a coincidence that she appeared in the place?

'_Sorry. Wrong person.'_

No doubt. She must have come to the mission, thinking that the Black Cat would be sent there. She also wore Alice Academy uniform, which only strengthened the possibility that she might be Jacklyn. But where did she get such information from? No one should have known whatever mission they were sent into except for those who were involved in the Dangerous Ability class. If so, she was also tricked to come to the mission. More importantly, who was she working for? Persona had once confirmed that there was no one nicknamed Little Angel in the academy.

"Onii-san."

Persona looked up at the title Bourne usually addressed him with. "Yes?"

Bourne leaned forward, seriousness gleaming in his eyes. "Have you gotten any information about the girl named Jacklyn?"

"Not much. For a new student, she had been absent more than any other new student would be. She was also ever involved in a kidnapping incident in the Central Town. The kidnapper's victim was Mikan Sakura. Unfortunately, we couldn't catch the kidnapper. Thus, the incident ended with her being sent to the hospital, bloody and with a pair of wings on her back."

The blonde-haired lad bent an eyebrow in perplexity. "Wings?"

"Her alice enables her to make those wings."

"What's her alice?"

"Drawing alice," Persona said fluidly. "She can turn the things she draws to real things. I heard it can stand for twenty four hours."

Bourne whistled. "You know a lot."

"That gay teacher knows a lot."

"Anything else I should know about her?"

"She looks like she has this depressing atmosphere with her at times. Like an angsty student."

The blonde haired lad smiled and stood up from his chair. "Well then, I'll be going now. There would be no mission for a while, right?"

Persona nodded. "Due to this event, we will have to consider carefully about having the next mission. We don't want to send the best students and get them killed or suicide for something meaningless."

Bourne inclined his head in understanding and gathered his bag and i-pod. "Okay then. Give my regards to Black Cat. Say I congratulate him for getting a new ward."

The man in black chuckled. "Sure. If he's awake to listen."

"He is." The lad turned walked to one of the casement windows and opened it widely. "Night, Nii-san." He waved at Persona for the last time before jumping out from the second floor.

With the dark of night hiding his figure, Bourne landed safely on the ground and swiftly made his way back to the dormitory. He reached his destination soon, faster than any normal students. Pushing the mahogany door open, he exhaled lightly and shoved one of his hands in the pocket.

Bourne walked through the entrance hall and to the stair. Exhaustion was all he felt. Even though he had used his alice more than necessary and still could make it back safely to the academy without any scratch, it didn't mean the exertion didn't affect him at all. The only thing that suppressed his need to rest and kept him from sleeping was the instinct to survive inside him, and his rugged principle to finish whatever duty he carried on his shoulder.

There was also another matter that restrained him from getting a sleep though.

The dream he usually had wasn't good enough for him to stay in his slumber. There were a few nights he woke up on his bed, to the darkness of his room, sweating and panting. Each time he finally grasped that it was only a nightmare, he would find his hands trembling, unstoppable. Then a weak scent of blood would waft around him, filling his nostrils, and faint sounds of screaming would ring inside his ears loudly.

The _incident_ had changed him so much, for the worst.

Never had he thought there was such monster living within him, scheming evil things while waiting in silence, and lashing out on everything it encountered once it gained control of him.

It made him fear of himself.

"Where were you?"

Bourne stopped on his track, his lips forming a small smile upon hearing the familiar female voice. "Aren't you supposed to be having dinner at this time?"

"That doesn't matter." Hotaru sighed and stared at him knowingly. "You didn't attend the class today."

"I didn't."

"Something happened?"

"Not really."

"Mission?"

Bourne leaned his back on the wall and shoved his other hand into his pocket. "Guess I can't hide it from you." He chuckled tiredly.

"Students aren't allowed to wander outside the dormitory at this kind of time," Hotaru stated matter-of-factly, "except for the Dangerous Ability class' students of course. And that usually only means one thing."

Mission.

"You ever told me that your stay here has something to do with the AAO," the inventor stated as she stood before him. "But, Severity, should the AAO problem in Alice Academy Japan involve you who's working for Alice Academy America? I believe Alice Academy Japan is able to handle the problem without having to get you here. They could have at least asked students like me to make a few inventions to defend themselves, or add capable students into the Dangerous Ability class. If all of the efforts are still futile, then they might have no choice but to ask for help from Alice Academy from other country as the last resort, like what you're doing now." She crossed her arms in front of her chest. "But until today, I never got the instruction from the academy to make anything, like what happened four years ago."

One of the corners of his lips raised. Bourne had known from the moment he visited Hotaru for a small reunion between friends, that he wouldn't be able to hide anything longer from her. Her senses were too sharp; it was reflected on her violet eyes that gazed at people stridently in silence. He already knew this since the first time he met her. It was an old memory when he was still in the Alice Academy Japan, when he hadn't recognized the other side of him. A memory from four years ago.

"Bourne, what are you hiding?"

He bowed his head and chortled, avoiding her eyes on purpose. Those eyes, if he looked at them now, who knew what would he say?

"Bourne…"

He kept on chuckling for no reason, while raking one hand through his spiky hair. It was either that, or he would say something that would gave out the secret he had been trying to conceal from her.

"Bourne!" Hotaru swung her palms hard on both of his cheeks and brought his face by force in front of her. "Are you insane or what?"

The unexpected hard slap brought Bourne's awareness back to the situation he was in. The mad, humorless chuckles finally died down in his throat and disappeared to nowhere once his eyes met her beautiful violet ones. Hers stared at him keenly, with a small hint of confusion and anxious swimming in them.

And he knew he was close to his limit. Dangerously close.

"Bour—"

He grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her to him a bit rough that Hotaru had to stifle a gasp of surprise. His arms quickly tightened around her petite form as he buried his head between her neck and shoulder. No words were uttered after that.

Hotaru sighed, having no idea what the lad was doing. Nevertheless, she chose not to ask, for now. Instead, she placed her hand on his head and buried her fingers in his hair, her other hand resting on his back.

From her view, it wasn't a romantic gesture. It was more of a comforting act between friends, and that was what she thought Bourne needed now.

But surely, it didn't look like that from other people's view who didn't know them well.

That included the pair of blue eyes which had been watching them in secret, the fire of jealousy burning in them.

-To be continued-


End file.
